Security Council delegation arrives in North Darfur

A delegation of the Security Council arrived in El Fasher, North Darfur, yesterday. The delegation will visit the region to investigate and address security concerns. In the South Sudan capital Juba, founder and leader of the mainstream Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) Abdelwahid El Nur announced the launch of a national initiative to address the roots of the security crisis through a national dialogue.

Upon its arrival, the delegation held a meeting with the state government and the state security committee to discuss the security situation in the state, the gradual exit process of the joint United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), the requirements for the voluntary return of the displaced, and the role of the African Union in Sudan’s democratic transition.

The delegation stated that it would assess the situation on the ground, meet the displaced, and take measures to strengthen people’s protection.

The Minister of Interior Affairs, Lt Gen Ezzeldin El Sheikh, said that the government will not allow any security lapses in the camps. When addressing the displaced in Abu Shouk camp in El Fasher yesterday, he affirmed the government's keen commitment to providing security, achieving stability, protecting the people, and resolving conflicts so that life can return to normal in Darfur.

He further appealed to the displaced to forget the bitterness of the past.

The Director of state police, Maj Gen Yahya Mohamed El Nour, confirmed that the police managed to construct a police station in Kasab camp for the displaced in Kutum locality in cooperation with UNAMID. It also has also begun the construction of another police building in the village of Nina.

The Sudanese Congress Party in North Darfur expressed its concerns that the security breaches that occurred in the state over the past days will undermine the people's confidence in peacebuilding as they show the government's inability to provide protection.

In a statement yesterday, the party called on the state and local governments to fulfil their responsibilities towards security provision, protection of people, and serving justice by arresting perpetrators of violence and bringing them to trial.

SLM-AW in Juba

In Juba, the capital of the Republic of South Sudan, founder and leader of the mainstream Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) Abdelwahid El Nur announced the launch of a national initiative to address the roots of the security crisis and achieve a just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace through a national dialogue.

El Nur explained that the dialogue should lead to consensus on a government of independent figures to lead the transitional period and “work to repair the social fabric of society”.

He stressed the need to restructure state institutions according to new foundations that reject hatred to establish laws, institutions, and equal citizenship without ethnic, religious, cultural, or geographical discrimination.

El Nur has been in Juba for the past two weeks to discuss Sudanese peace, after an invitation from South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit. El Nur praised the government of South Sudan and urged Kiir to facilitate a national dialogue for Sudanese political parties to address the root causes of conflict in the country.