‘No Unamid exit before peace in Darfur’: displaced

Leaders of the Zamzam camp for the displaced, south of North Darfur’s capital El Fasher, have requested the technical committee working on the exit strategy of Unamid to consider the rampant insecurity in Darfur.

They stressed to a delegation of 42 representatives of the UN, AU, and the Sudanese government who visited the camp on Friday, that the UN-AU peacekeeping mission cannot leave before a just and comprehensive peace has been realised.

The camp elders told them that they will hold the UN and the Security Council responsible for “any new attack or act of genocide in Darfur, after Unamid has left”.

A Zamzam camp sheikh told Radio Dabanga that the delegation asked the leaders, sheikhs, omdas, and members of the Zamzam Women and Youth Association to present their vision on the current situation in the camp, the exit of Unamid, and the voluntary return of displaced people to their places of origin.

“They pillage and torch villages, implementing the policy of ethnic cleansing with total impunity.”

“We replied that the situation in the camp is extremely bad. There is no security at all, while the displaced suffer from a severe shortage of drinking water, food, health care, and educational facilities, in particular the newcomers.”

The sheikh continued by saying that they told the delegation that “a red line will be crossed when the peacekeepers would leave before a just peace is reached”.

“It is the responsibility of the UN to protect the displaced in case Unamid leaves, especially as security in the region lies now in the hands of militias, who are assaulting, raping and murdering Darfuris as they like. They pillage and torch villages, implementing the policy of ethnic cleansing with total impunity.”

“Sudan does not need help from Unamid to maintain security.”

The Governor of North Darfur, Osman Kibir, told the delegation that the Unamid personnel have not been able to protect themselves. “They had to be protected by the Sudanese police.”

Kibir accused Unamid of instead of contributing to the spread of crimes in the region, of “robberies and hijacks, corrupting administrations and counterfeiting money”. He emphasised the Sudanese government's desire of the peacekeepers’ departure, confirming the nation’s ability to protect its citizens. “Sudan does not need help from Unamid to maintain security.”