14 dead as South Darfur displaced clash in Kalma camp

Clashes within Kalma camp for the displaced, near the South Darfur capital Nyala, on Sunday have left 14 people dead, the acting governor of South Darfur, Maj Gen Hashim Khalid, has confirmed. The clashes erupted between two groups of displaced people within the camp.

In a statement to the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) Khalid said he held a meeting with the UN-AU peacekeeping mission Unamid on Tuesday, aimed at putting an end to the disturbances in the camp and discussing the need to provide security for the displaced in Kalma camp.

He explained that his government asked Unamid to set another date for a final decision-making meeting on the camp this week.

The governor said that he asked the mission to continue to collect weapons in the state. “The next target should be Kalma so that the camp will be for the displaced only, secure and stable.”

Unamid withdrawal

The peacekeeping mission Unamid, mandated by the UN Security Council by its resolution 2429 (2018) is scheduled to withdraw from South Darfur this June. The mission plans to exit Darfur entirely by June 2020.

After handing over team sites and headquarters to the Sudanese authorities in the past months, the mission’s new headquarters in Zalingei are now fully operational. The office of the Joint Special Representative Jeremiah Mamabolo has relocated to Khartoum.

Mamabolo pointed out in December that the region has seen improved security but still witnesses fresh waves of displacement. “With a significant emphasis in Jebel Mara where intermittent hostilities between non-state armed groups and regular forces continue to directly affect civilians in the area.”

In January, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres reported that the recent security situation in Darfur was “relatively stable”.