KHARTOUM, Nov 21 (NNN-SUNA) – Joint Special Representative of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Jeremiah Mamabolo, urged Sudanese political forces, particularly the armed groups, who have not yet joined the peace process, to come to the negotiating table.
“I call on all Sudanese political forces, particularly the armed movements, who have not yet joined the peace process, to seize this historic moment and come to the negotiating table,” said Mamabolo in Khartoum.
The UNAMID chief further urged both the Sudanese government and the armed groups, to work with the UN and other international actors, to support humanitarian access to all remote areas, in Darfur in particular, to ensure the timely and effective delivery of humanitarian aid.
“It is extremely important that, as the peace process moves forward, we continue providing basic humanitarian support to the people,” he noted.
In early 2008, UNAMID was deployed in Darfur, a region which has been witnessing military clashes between the Sudanese army and the rebels since 2003.
UNAMID is considered as the second biggest peacekeeping mission in the world, after the UN Mission, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, in Jun, 2017, the UN Security Council (UNSC) decided to draw down the mission’s military component by 40 percent and the police by 33 percent.
On Oct 31, 2019, UNSC adopted Resolution 2495, extending the UNAMID mandate until Oct 31, 2020.
The resolution maintains the current troops ceiling of 4,050 military and 2,500 police personnel, until Mar, 2020.– NNN-SUNA