South Darfur governor threatens to storm Kalma to make arrests

The governor of South Darfur, Abdel Hamid Musa Kasha, said in a press conference held yesterday that he considered the violence last week in Kalma Camp to be a war crime. Speaking in the presence of the deputy chief of the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur, he said that Abdel Wahid Mohamed Al Nur, the rebel leader exiled in Paris, is responsible and should be brought to trial. Kasha called on UNAMID to hand over suspects, otherwise he would invade the camp by force.

These remarks came after deadly violence in two IDP camps in Darfur last week, reportedly due to tensions between supporters and opponents of the Darfur peace process. Radio Dabanga learnt that up to seven may have died in fighting in Kalma near Nyala on Thursday, while on Wednesday two or three were killed at Hamadiya camp near Zalingei. UNAMID reported yesterday that the situation in Kalma was calm but remained tense and unpredictable.
For his part, Deputy Joint Special Representative of UNAMID Mohammed Yonis, who is acting as Chief of Mission, said that UNAMID is mandated to protect displaced persons of camps around the clock, according to the mandate and powers granted to them. 

Meanwhile, President Al Bashir called for bringing to justice all those involved in the events in the camps. Bashir held a meeting with Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid in the Republican Palace about protection of IDPs in their camps. The interior minister said in a press statement after the meeting that the president has pledged to bring to trial all those perpetrators of crimes in Hamadiya and Kalma camps, and he accused the rebel Abdel Wahid Al Nur of what he called a trouble-making in the camps.