The UN and the African Union on Thursday ended a 13-year mission to keep the peace in the vast Sudanese region of Darfur, even as recent violent clashes leave residents fearful of renewed fighting.
Fighting erupted in Darfur in 2003, when ethnic minority rebels rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, which responded by recruiting and arming Arab-dominated militia known as the Janjaweed.
About 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced, UN data show.
Photo: AFP
“The peacekeeping mission ended on Thursday December 31 at midnight in Darfur,” UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) spokesman Ashraf Eissa said. “As of 1 January 2021,UNAMID’s troops and police personnel will focus on providing security for the mission’s drawdown activities, personnel, and assets.”
The phased withdrawal of about 8,000 armed and civilian personnel would be completed inside six months, Eissa said.
The Sudanese government “will take over responsibility for the protection of civilians in the area,” UNAMID said.
Darfur’s bitter conflict has largely subsided in the past few years, and former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir — wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and other alleged crimes in the western region — was deposed last year.
However, the country’s transitional government is fragile, and ethnic and tribal clashes still periodically flare, including clashes last week that left at least 15 people dead and dozens wounded.
Darfuris, many of whom remain in camps years after they fled their homes, have held protests in the past few weeks against the mission’s imminent departure.
“The lives of Darfuri people are at stake, and the United Nations should reconsider its decision,” Mohamed Abdelrahman told reporters on Wednesday at Kalma camp in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.
Kalma resident Othman Abulkassem said that the troops’ departure might be “big trouble” for Darfuris, leaving them at risk of further violence.
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