Sudan suspends UN activities in Darfur
June 24, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese government on Saturday night ordered local authorities in the western region of Darfur to suspend UN activities in the region, except humanitarian activities of the World Food Program and international aid agencies.
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry announced in a statement that theministry has instructed the authorities of the three states in Darfur to implement the order immediately.
The statement said that the ministry made the decision, becausethe UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) overstepped its mandate by airlifting a leader of Darfur rebel movements.
“The official authorities have found that a UN plane during daytime on June 24 transported a leader of the armed movements from al-Fashir to Masbad and then to Kadugli,” the statement said.
By this move, the statement said, “the UNMIS went beyond its authorities and missions which had been stipulated in an agreement reached between the Sudanese government and the UN.”
The ministry also accused the UNMIS of “ignoring the Sudanese authorities and clearly infringing upon Sudan’s sovereignty.”
“The suspension will be lifted when the special representative of the UN secretary-general in Sudan clarifies the UNMIS’ position,” the statement said.
The UNMIS was set up in Sudan last year after the Sudanese government and former rebel movements in the south signed a comprehensive peace agreement in January of the same year.
Monitoring implementation of the peace agreement, the UNMIS hasalso been involved in humanitarian activities and logistic supportfor an African peacekeeping mission in Darfur.
Tension has mounted between the Sudanese government and the UNMIS when the latter announced its support for a UN takeover of the African Darfur peace mission.
The Sudanese government has refused the proposal, fearing that deployment of UN peacekeepers in Darfur would lead to interferencein its internal affairs.
(Xinhua/ST)