The decision has been made: the UN Security Council has approved cuts in the AU – UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
Last month we posted an article: UN wants to scale down UNAMID’s mission in Darfur, the Head of UN Peacekeeping, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, told the Security Council that the situation in Darfur has changed “radically for the better” despite alarming reports.
This article on 7D News explains:
The decision comes after weeks of international outcry to maintain the peacekeeping forces all over Darfur. Under the decision, UNAMID’s troops were to be downsized from 8,735 to 4,050 by June 30th, 2019. 14 sites were to be closed, including the current headquarters, and operations would be limited to 13 sites near Jebel Marra. The force is due for total withdrawal by 2020. The 15 members of the UN security Council voted in favour of downsizing the peacekeeping mission, UNAMID, which was established in 2007 with a mandate to help protect civilians.
On July 18, 2018, before the cuts were confirmed, Eric Reeves wrote:
As the final gutting of UNAMID in Darfur nears completion, Khartoum smells victory in its long war of attrition with this miserable failure of a mission. That Vice President Hassabo is in charge of “safe returns” is a savage irony, revealing the bankruptcy of the international response to Darfur’s continuing genocide.
Radio Dabanga reported that since last week, militiamen are assaulting farmers in several parts of Central Darfur’s Mukjar locality. The source called on Unamid and the local authorities “to act urgently, protect the farmers and persecute the perpetrators”. Unfortunately, UNAMID troop strength to be cut by half does not bode well for the future in the region…
