HUNDREDS of thousands of people in Sudan’s Darfur region will go hungry over the New Year period after renewed violence forced the UN to suspend food deliveries.

Heavy fighting between rebels and government forces on Monday made it too dangerous for aid distribution to continue, the World Food Programme (WFP) said. About 100 people died in the clashes in West Kordofan state, which borders Darfur.

The violence came after weeks of insecurity in the region, which has forced some aid agencies to consider withdrawing staff. The WFP said that it had halted three convoys of trucks carrying more than 1,300 tonnes of food destined for thousands of people in camps in West and South Darfur.

In a statement, the organisation said that the increased violence meant that the UN and non-governmental organisations were effectively blocked from having overland access between central Sudan and Darfur. As a result 260,000 people would not receive their December rations.

“This has a particular impact on WFP’s provision of lifesaving food aid as it must rely heavily on road deliveries to support its Darfur humanitarian operation,” the statement said. Jan Pronk, the UN’s top envoy to Sudan, said that he was particularly concerned about reports that rebel groups had stolen 13 WFP trucks laden with emergency food in the last two weeks and were now using the vehicles for military purposes. Aid agencies have also had vehicles seized in attacks.

“Such misuses of humanitarian assets should cease immediately,” said Mr Pronk. He urged all parties to ensure the safety of their own people and allow access to food aid and other humanitarian assistance.

More than 1.85 million people have been forced from their homes in Darfur since February 2003, when the Sudan Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement took up arms against Khartoum to fight for a greater share of resources and political recognition. The Government responded by arming and backing an Arab militia, known as the Janjawid, which embarked on a brutal course of murder, looting and rape against the mainly African farmers. More than 70,000 civilians are estimated to have died.

The Government blamed the Sudan Liberation Army for the latest attacks on the towns of Ghibaish and Al-Majrour. But international observers say that both sides are guilty of repeatedly ignoring ceasefire agreements and calls from the UN to suspend fighting.

Last week the charity Save the Children withdrew from Darfur after four of its staff were killed in the past two months. Médecins sans Frontières also recently lost two staff in attacks.

The UN Security Council has failed to take any stringent action against Sudan. Any threat of sanctions has been blocked by China, which has extensive oil interests in the country. The Security Council may be forced to adopt a different tack next year, particularly if peace talks between the Government and the rebels, which will resume in Nigeria next month, fail to stop the killing.

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