UNAMID team site in North Darfur’s Sortony camp handed over

The wali (governor) of North Darfur, Mohamed Arabi, officially signed the documents on to the handover of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) field site in the Sortony camp for the displaced in Kabkabiya locality yesterday.

The handover is part of the wide plan for the gradual withdrawal of the UNAMID forces from Darfur in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution. The site was occupied by the Pakistani forces of the mission.

Arabi affirmed his keenness to employ the legacy of UNAMID for civilian purposes to serve the people of the region. The wali announced the upgrade of the Sortony area to an administrative unit affiliated with the Kabkabiya locality. He also announced that the UNAMID site will become a nucleus for a hospital and a school for the new Sortony administrative unit.

The displaced living in the Sortony camp expressed their joy about the wali’s plans for the mission headquarters to serve the people of the region. They stated their desire to keep all the equipment inside the site.

The Sortony camp was established in the first half of 2016 after tens of thousands of people fled government attacks on Jebel Marra in Central Darfur and sought refuge near the UNAMID base in Sortony.

Last month, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) in North Darfur warned of increased insecurity in North Darfur with the absence of security forces in the state after the UNAMID forces proceeded with their withdrawal.