Darfur displaced call for resumption of Unamid patrols

Displaced people in the Darfur camps say that the lack of Unamid patrols has contributed to the increased number of attacks by militias. Some camps reported that they only see an Unamid patrol once a month on average, while others “have not seen a patrol for a long time”. According to Hussein Abu Sharati, spokesman for the Association of Displaced Persons and Refugees of Darfur, Unamid night patrols around the camps stalled in 2010 during the Doha negotiations “under the pretext of a lack of vehicles.” South Darfur Speaking from camp Kalma near Nyala on Wednesday, Abu Sharati told Radio Dabanga that his association has met with Unamid “without finding any satisfactory answers, as it claims there were shortages of vehicles and movement, but we demand the mission resume the night patrols.” Central Darfur The coordinator of Zalingei camps in Central Darfur told Radio Dabanga that Unamid patrols have fully stopped at the camps since January 2013. “This was preceded by withdrawal of the community police from the camps in July 2012,” he explained. “Unamid is contributing to the National Congress Party (NCP) decisions by providing false reports and helping the NCP in the regional and international arena,” he said. He accused the mission of “not performing” the duty it has been assigned by the Security Council and the United Nations.“We predict that a major disaster might occur in the Darfur camps if the Mission remains here without performing the tasks related to the protection of the displaced.” West Darfur Speaking from West Darfur, the head sheikh of Murnei camp for the displaced told Radio Dabanga  that Unamid patrols have stopped both inside and outside the camps for nearly four months. He says the sheikhs and the administrations of the camp have “filed formal complaints to the new President, requesting continued security, however those complaints have received only promises without any substantial response or implementation”. The sheikh pointed out that “work in the Unamid offices is dominated by members of the security apparatus of the government. If they see us moving there with a complaint more than once, we would subject ourselves to arrest. That’s why we have stopped making complaints”. North Darfur The displaced of camp Kassab in Kutum, North Darfur, have reported that patrols stopped in the beginning of 2013. A sheikh of the camp confirmed to Radio Dabanga that “Unamid patrols stopped six months ago. The Mission no longer plays any role in protecting displaced persons. All they do is write reports. We have taken several complaints to officials. Every time we complain, someone new tells us the former official has left. The new person receives our complaint and so we must start from the beginning. “If an incident occurs, Unamid come three days later to find out what happened,” says one of the sheikhs of camp Fatta Borno. “When we complained about the lack of patrols, we were told by Unamid that their mandate does not allow them to protect the displaced.” File photo by Albert González Farran/UNAMID