Sudan and UNAMID discuss joint cooperation

March 30, 2010 (KHARTOUM) –Sudanese government and Darfur peacekeeping mission discussed yesterday cooperation between two sides to enhance protection of UNAMID members and ensure the security of Darfur civilians.

The meeting took place three weeks after an ambush against a patrol of the UNMID in South Darfur area of Deribat where unidentified armed elements disarmed the 60 members of the patrol form their arms and equipment.

The Nigerians peacekeepers were in the area of Deribat, to assess the humanitarian situation, following reports about heavy fighting between the Sudanese army and SLA-led by Abdel Wahid Al-Nur that triggered the displacement of thousands of civilians.

Sudanese government officials blamed the UNAMID for the incident and accused the hybrid mission of supplying weapons to the rebels. The governor of South Darfur state who had been supportive to the AU-UN operation said recently UNAMID has become a burden for the government. However his comment remains worthless as such statements are put out for local consumption

In a meeting held in Khartoum on Monday Mutrif Siddiq, the Undersecretary of the Sudanese Foreign Affairs Ministry discussed with the Deputy Joint Special Representative for Darfur, Mohamed Younis, cooperation between the two sides, said Noureddine Mezni the official UNAMID Spokesperson.

Mezni said the Sudanese official who is charge of the relations with the joint mission pledged continuity of cooperation, citing Mutrif words that the hybrid operations is a partnership between the three components, (Sudan, African Union and UN).

On the recent ambush against a UNAMID battalion in Jebel Marra and the impact of that on UNAMID-Sudan relations, following the criticism directed to the former, the Spokesperson pointed out that it was not appropriate to comment on that as a joint committee between Sudanese authorities and UNAMID is currently investigating the incident.

He stressed that the Undersecretary reiterated that the incident would not affect negatively the cooperation between the two parties, adding that any comment before the end of the investigation is inappropriate, and that any problem will be addressed through bilateral dialogue.

On December 29, Sudanese government and the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) signed a protocol including safety measures to ensure the security of the peacekeepers working in the restive region.

The two parties inked the deal after the killing of five Rwandan peacekeepers during the first week of December in two successive attacks, Kigali pointed fingers at Sudan suggesting the latter is responsible for the deadly attacks over the weekend against its soldiers.

(ST)