Victims of Sudanese military police raids in a displaced persons camp in Darfur have resisted efforts to airlift them to safety because they are afraid of being arrested, a day after government forces raided Kalma camp, killing about 49 people. Sudanese forces besieged the camp Tuesday after fighting there left dozens dead. Official sources indicated the Sudanese military police surrounded the camp early Monday and attacked it later, firing at its occupants. Medical charity, MSF-Holland, and a combined force of the United Nations-Africa Union peacekeeping mission for Darfur (UNAMID), said they jointly airlifted 47 people Monday night after the Sudanese forces raided the camp, killing dozens of people. In a statement Tuesday, UNAMID officials said the government raid in Kalma camp may have been caused by reports that the camp, which houses more than 80,000 internally displaced people in Darfur, was home to several weapons. Sudanese authorities said the camp was being used by the armed factions in Darfur as a command post for their military activity in the war-scarred region. The joint peacekeeping mission said it was also deploying an investigation mission to the camp to verify the reports that the camp was being used as a drugs, ammunitions and weaponry den by the IDPs.
