GENEVA, Oct. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said Tuesday that it managed to field five missions recentlyto the Darfur region in western Sudan to help the displaced people.

    But land mines, harassment and militia attacks are continuing to hamper relief work and the return of refugees in western Sudan,UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told reporters.

    Redmond said the agency's mobile protection teams found dozens of people who had previously fled Darfur for Chad, but then returned to Sudan expecting to go back to their villages.

    "Many of them returned from Chad last July and some were able to go back to their homes. But others are still unable to return home because of security fears," Redmond said.

    One UNHCR mission was aborted by police at gunpoint and anotherwas canceled by the military, purportedly because of tensions along the way.

    "All of this gives you some idea of the difficulties we and ourpartners are facing in trying to provide at least some protective presence in the region," Redmond said.

    The conflict that broke out in Darfur last year has uprooted more than 1.4 million Sudanese, including 200,000 who fled into Chad. UNHCR and other agencies have mounted an assistance program for the refugees and the internally displaced. Enditem