UNAMID reinforces protection of Kalma IDP Camp in South Darfur
October 5, 2008 – A military contingent from the United Nations-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force (UNAMID) was dispatched to an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in South Darfur to reinforce UNAMID police forces and provide overnight protection, the peacekeeping mission said Sunday.
The team moved from Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, to nearby Kalma camp, where a massacre occurred Aug. 25 that killed an estimated 32 people, a figure that later rose to 37 by one estimate. Sixty-five people with gunshot wounds arrived at a Doctors Without Borders clinic on the day of the attack.
Images of the victims of the attack were too horrific to be published on this website.
In another recent incident at Kalma, three girls who ventured from the camp disappeared, according to a report from a UNAMID patrol on Sept. 20.
UNAMID decided Sept. 1 to deploy peacekeepers to Kalma camp on a permanent basis, following reports of an increased presence of government police erecting tents at a new location 5 km (3.1 miles) from the camp.
But the deployment announced Sunday represents a greater military presence in the camp “as a result of recent alleged threats of attack on the camp by the Government of Sudan (GoS) Forces,” said a UNAMID statement.
The deployment is composed of one platoon with one armored personnel carrier present around the clock on a rotational basis of 12 hours for each platoon. The team also provides security at the site of a UN helicopter crash of Sept. 29, and reinforces a Community Policing Centre (CPC) patrol.
The added protection for IDPs follows discussions in September among IDP leaders and UNAMID Principal Deputy Joint Special Representative Henry Anyidoho, Chief of Civil Affairs Wariara Mbugua, Acting Head of Office Ali Hassan and humanitarian liaison officers.
During a meeting on Sunday with newly arrived UNAMID police advisors, UNAMID Deputy Police Commissioner Elizabeth Muwanga urged police advisors to be impartial in their dealings with the Government of Sudan Police as well those of the various factions, respect the customs and traditions of the people of Sudan and uphold the professional standards required of UN peacekeepers.
‘‘All of you here possess a wealth of knowledge in policing and we hope that you will all work together to serve the people of Darfur,” she said.
(ST)