UNAMID chief proposes to hold a meeting with Darfur governors on Doha deal
August 14, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — The head of the hybrid peacekeeping operation (UNAMID) and ad interim mediator today discussed with the governor of North Darfur the Doha peace agreement and suggested to hold a meeting with Darfur governors on its implementation.
Ibrahim Gambari who met last week a number of Sudanese officials in Khartoum to explain the UN Security Council resolution 2003 related to the extension of UNAMID mandate also told the governor Osman Kibir that his mission respects Sudan’s sovereignty emphasizing that UNAMID’s mandate will not change.
The meeting meant to tackle the implementation of the Doha peace agreement on the ground said Gambari in statements to the official SUNA. He further said he suggested to hold a meeting with the governors of the three states to discuss the issue in El-Fasher, North Darfur capital where are the UNAMID’s headquarters.
A first delegation of the former rebel Liberation and Equality (LJM) will arrive to Khartoum at the end of the month before the arrival of its leader Tijani El-Sissi during the first week of September. The latter met last week with the head of Sudan’s government delegation Amin Hassan Omer in Addis Ababa to discuss the return of the rebel group .
Sudanese government and LJM signed a peace agreement in Doha, Qatar, on 14 July. The other rebel group participating in the process, Justice and Equality Movement, welcomed the Doha peace framework document and asks to open the text for more negotiations. Khartoum refuses this demand and talks are stalled.
The UN Security Council in its resolution of 29 July was not enthusiastic to a Darfur based political process that an African Union panel led by former South African president Thabo Mbeki intends to launch in Darfur.
Sudan last week slammed the resolution and accused the UN of interfering in its internal affairs. However it is not clear what the African Union- UN mission operation intends to do in this respect, as the AU recommended to support it but the Security Council said Khartoum should first lift the state of emergency and establish favourable conditions in terms of human rights and freedom of expression.
Gambari disclosed that Nigeria’s defense minister Bello Mohamed will visit the UNAMID on 18-20 August. The visit comes after a meeting he held with the minister in Abuja on 4 August to request the allocation of Nigerian military helicopters to the hybrid mission.
Nigeria is the largest contributing country of troops to the UNAMID. Also, 27 Nigerian soldiers were killed in Darfur since the African mission deployed in the troubled region in 2004.
(ST)