Sudan Riot
01/08/2005
Riots have broken out, especially in the capital Khartoum, and the situation can be considered as unstable at the moment. As a result, the National Director of SOS Children in Sudan has decided to close the National Office and the Umbada projects near Khartoum at least until Saturday 6 August 2005 (other offices in Khartoum are also closed). The National Director has informed us that the villages and staff are safe for the time being and that he has sufficient resources for some time. Please note that the closed projects are only the National Office and the educational complex in Umbada near Khartoum (schools, vocational training centre, social centre). All these projects will re-open as soon as the situation calms down, perhaps as early as this week. The villages in Khartoum and Malakal are not affected by this and are not closed down. Nevertheless staff and children were instructed to stay as much as possible inside the village boundaries due to the unstable security situation. Also our SOS Emergency Relief Programme in Darfur is operating normally and is so far not affected by the political crisis due to the deceased Vice President Garang. Please note that communications are practically impossible at the moment into Sudan, since email and telephone lines (including most mobile phones) have been shut down. We will update you once the situation has changed significantly.
Relevant Countries: Sudan.