Sudan Ready To Maintain Security In Darfur After UNAMID Withdrawal - Military Spokesman

Sudan Ready to Maintain Security in Darfur After UNAMID Withdrawal - Military Spokesman

The Sudanese armed forces are capable of maintaining security in the country's Darfur province after the United Nations African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur's (UNAMID) withdrawal, which is scheduled for October 2020, the Sudanese military's spokesman, Brig. Gen. Amer Mohammed al-Hassan, told Sputnik in an interview

KHARTOUM (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th May, 2020) The Sudanese armed forces are capable of maintaining security in the country's Darfur province after the United Nations African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur's (UNAMID) withdrawal, which is scheduled for October 2020, the Sudanese military's spokesman, Brig. Gen. Amer Mohammed al-Hassan, told Sputnik in an interview.

On Tuesday, Sudan's Sovereign Council chairman, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, US Special Envoy to Sudan Donald Booth and US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Naji agreed to complete the UNAMID mission, which was established in July 2007 to protect the civil population, promote human rights and facilitate open political talks between the Darfur's warring parties.

"We consider that the security of the UNAMID mission relies on the Sudanese armed forces, and the latter has never declared its inability to secure the safety of the Greater Darfur region," the spokesman said, adding that no additional logistical and security measures would be required after the UNAMID's withdrawal from Darfur.

Darfur has been facing a conflict between different communities since the 1980s, which significantly escalated in 2003 when rebel groups launched a campaign to topple the government of then-President Omar Bashir. In 2007, the UN Security Council and the African Union sent a joint peacekeeping mission to the region. The conflict has resulted in around 300,000 casualties and the displacement of up to 3 million people by United Nations estimates.

Under the 2363 UN Security Council Resolution issued in 2017, the UN decided to reduce the number of UNAMID's military and police personnel over the following year. Half of the mission's military strength then reportedly withdrew from Darfur in February 2019.