January 27, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan’s foreign ministry Wednesday has criticized the latest report of the UN chief to the UN Security Council on the situation in Darfur saying it contained false information. However, Sudan also admitted that it has mentioned several positive points.

The UN chief of peacekeeping operations, Herve Ladsous (Photo: AFP/Federic J. Brown)

On Monday 26 January, UN peacekeeping chief Hervé Ladsous, presented a report to the Security Council about the humanitarian, security and political security situations in Darfur released since the 24 December 2015.

Besides the renewed fighting between the government and the Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdel Wahid a-Nur (SLM-AW), Ladsous further said the hybrid peace mission, UNAMID, continues to experience some restrictions of movement and access denials, denial of visa and clearances.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Ali al-Sadiq told reporters Wednesday the report was based on information received from the UN officials in Darfur. He further pointed some of information conveyed to him are false and don’t reflect the real situation on the ground.

Already the deputy head of Sudan’s mission at the United Nations, Hassan Hamid Hassan, reacted during the Security Council meeting and disagreed with the French diplomat and head of UN peacekeeping department. He said the SLM-AW refuses to join the peace process and the army was "duty-bound" to protect civilians.

Hassan further minimized the new displacement of civilians and asserted that the government is containing tribal clashes.

Regarding the authorizations and customs permits for containers, the deputy head of Sudan’s delegation blamed the UNAMID for the closure of an office to follow applications, saying it had closed at UNAMID’s request. Also, he admitted that they deny very few visas but generally they deliver it and provided some figures to illustrate his statements.

Ladsous told the Security Council that the visa denial remain “precarious”. he also spoke about delays in customs clearances saying 108 containers of rations are still held by the Sudanese authorities in Port Sudan awaiting a tax exemption certificate from the ministry of finance.

However, Sadiq underscored the report also mentioned several positive points that could be built upon in the future, saying it stressed the need for the gradual exit of the joint peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

He added the report pointed to the confrontations between the Sudanese army and the armed movements in Darfur has receded, saying it acknowledged the effectiveness of the government efforts to impose its authority during tribal clashes.

The spokesreosn further said the UN’s report emphasized the effectiveness of the local reconciliation and reparations mechanisms, praising the role of the states’ governors in establishing security and stability in Darfur.

According to al-Sadiq, the secretary general also mentioned the government’s cooperation in the disposal of the unexploded ordinance and acknowledged that the majority of IDP’s in East and Central Darfur states have returned to their homes.

He pointed the report underlined that government authorities have detained about 100 of the outlaws and referred several of them to trial which proves effectiveness of the justice agencies.

(ST)