IDP situation in Sudan under review

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GENEVA, Switzerland, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The United Nations announced it dispatched an independent expert to Sudan to assess the situation for internally displaced people.

Chaloka Beyani, a Zambian national and professor of international law at the London School of Economics, travels to Sudan for a nine-day visit to hear from refugees in the country.

"I will consider the situation of internally displaced persons, including in Darfur, with a view to assessing the current humanitarian, protection and durable solutions needs, and providing relevant recommendations," he said in a statement.

Last week, the U.N.-African Union assistance mission in Darfur said an investigative team was turned away from a checkpoint by Sudanese authorities after reports of an attack in Darfur. UNAMID said it received reports that 13 people died in the latest violence.

Simmering violence in the region prompted U.S. President Barack Obama to renew a national emergency related to Sudan in early November. Sanctions were imposed on Sudan by Washington in 1997.

The U.S. State Department said conflict in border states of the countries, coupled with the disputed states over a region known as Abyei, were a concern. In South Sudan, meanwhile, U.N. agencies there said they were preparing for as many as 30,000 refugees fleeing fighting between rival Sudanese forces along the border.