A few days ago, the United Nations announced they wanted to scale down UNAMID’s mission in Darfur (read our news here). The Head of UN Peacekeeping, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, told the Security Council that the situation in Darfur has changed “radically for the better” and, as the needs of the people have changed, “the international community must adapt its support accordingly.”
But the situation on the ground remains tense, there are ongoing clashes in Jebel Marra between the Sudan Liberation Army-Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW) and Government of #Sudan forces. The U.S. Department of State tweeted:
The Troika (#Norway, the #UnitedKingdom and the United States) condemns the ongoing clashes between the Sudan Liberation Army-Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW) and Government of #Sudan forces as well as inter-tribal violence in the Jebel Marra region of #Darfur. https://t.co/FAj38T3p3r
— Department of State (@StateDept) June 19, 2018
The Troika, composed of Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States issued a joint statement:
The civilian population continues to bear the brunt of this unnecessary violence, which has led to the burning down of villages, causing high numbers of civilian injury and death, and the displacement of nearly 9,000 people. It is unacceptable that the Government of Sudan has repeatedly prevented the African Union/United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and humanitarian actors from accessing the areas of conflict and displaced populations. The Troika strongly urges the Government of Sudan to immediately provide unfettered access to both UNAMID and humanitarian actors.
Eric Reeves posted an article about the situation and is, as always, very precise and provides many details about what is really going on in the region:
As the UN Security Council prepares to eviscerate even further the UN/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), the one “area” of acknowledged “concern” is Jebel Marra and east Jebel Marra, a region that can be thought of as either sharply delineated (as UNAMID would have us believe appropriate) or as covering tens of thousands of square kilometers—the area in which recent militia attacks on civilians have occurred
[…]
The violence against civilians includes indiscriminate artillery bombardment of targets nowhere near rebel forces; the murder and rape of civilians by militia and regular military forces; widespread pillaging; and widespread village destruction, including the cutting down of thousands of mature fruit trees on the farms of non-Arab/African civilians—part of an ongoing campaign to ensure that those displaced have nothing to return to.
UNAMID’s mission is far from being complete and the many obstacles they encounter in the region is a very bad sign for the people living in fear of attacks coming from militia and regular military forces…
