University of Zalingei to get Unamid’s Central Darfur HQ

On Sunday, Unamid handed over its headquarters in the Mukjar area in Central Darfur to the Sudanese government. A local official in Mukjar said the state government, in turn, announced handing of the headquarters to the University of Zalingei to open one of its faculties.

The displaced people in Mukjar expressed concern for the departure of the mission from the area, but on the other hand, expressed joy on the opening of the faculties of the University in Mukjar.

Unamid formally handed over its field sites in Shaaria in East Darfur to the government on Tuesday.

The hand-overs are in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2429 (2018), which has called for the closing of 10 Team Sites across Darfur as part of the Mission’s reconfiguration process.

Unamid is also expected to hand over two of its sites in West Darfur to the government by December.

Unamid officially handed over its Community Policing Centre (CPC) in El Salam  Camp, South Darfur, and El Sereif Team Site in North Darfur to the government of Sudan on October 4 and 8.

'Over-hasty cuts to Unamid'

In September, a delegation of UK parliamentarians visited Sudan and travelled to Darfur to meet the Governor of North Darfur, internally displaced people, and staff from the African Union/United Nations Mission in Darfur (Unamid).

In a statement following their meetings, they warn of the risks attached to over-hasty cuts to Unamid, and urge that “any further cuts must reflect genuine improvements on the ground”.