July 26(Darfur24)  Over 31,000 people have been displaced following intercommunal violence in Ganis town, Ar Rusayris locality, Blue Nile State, according to the local authorities and partners on the ground. An estimated 12,600 displaced people are currently in Ed Damazine town and outside Damazine locality in Blue Nile.

 

An additional 12,800 people have reportedly arrived in Sennar, another 4,500 people are in White Nile and about 1,220 displaced people are in Aj Jazira State, according to reports from the local authorities and humanitarian partners in those locations. All reported figures are subjected to verification and changes.

 

As of 24 July, the situation in Ed Damazine and other parts of Blue Nile State is calm but unpredictable.

 

The government has deployed security forces in Ed Damazine town since 19 July, and a one month 0600 – 1800hrs curfew has been in place since 16 July. The roads leading to Ed Damazine are open, and all unauthorized checkpoints

 

established along the streets have been removed by security forces. Markets and public transportation are partially functioning. Government staff have resumed their work. Number of admissions and their frequency at Damazine hospital has reduced significantly.

 

In an Area Security Management Team meeting on 24 July, it was decided to ease the movement restriction outside of Ed Damazine town. However, due to the current security situation in Ganis, the movements of humanitarian actors are still restricted there.

On 22 July, an inter-agency needs assessment was carried out to Ar Rusayris to identify the needs of the displaced people, gaps and develop a collective response plan. No gathering sites were observed. The displaced people are living with friends and family.

Humanitarian partners continue to provide the affected people with assistance. However, the humanitarian operation is affected by the outage of electricity in Blue Nile. In addition to what has already been reported in previous Flash Updates, the State Ministry of Health (SMoH) and health sector partners have re-activated the emergency health sector in the Blue Nile. The Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) deployed an emergency surgical team of 11 specialists to Ed Damazine. The health sector provides on-going technical support to FMoH and SMoH to establish a system of intervention planning.