Sudan welcomes end of Darfur peacekeeping mission on the way to normality  

 

The Sudanese government welcomed the decision taken by the UN Security Council to end the mandate of the peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) on December 31 and considered it a step in its return to the international community after the end of Omar al-Bashir's regime.  

In a statement, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said this is "an important step on the way to Sudan's return to the international community and in addressing its relationship with the multilateral working bodies".  

The Security Council voted unanimously in favour of ending the African Union/UN hybrid mission to Darfur by 31 December 2020 and withdrawing all its personnel by 30 June 2021.   

That decision "would not have been possible without the achievements made by the revolutionary government to establish peace and security in Darfur," said Foreign Minister, referring to the transitional executive formed in 2019 after the overthrow of Al-Bashir in April that year following months of protests in the streets of Sudan. 

The note highlighted in particular the peace agreement sealed by the government of Khartoum and the main Sudanese rebel groups, including those in Darfur, last October in Yuba, which opened the door to the end of several conflicts in different regions of the African country.  

Foreign Affairs also pointed out the "commitment of the transitional government to assume its responsibility to protect the citizens of Darfur", particularly those in the refugee camps, and to guarantee the conditions for their safe return to their areas of origin.  

UNAMID was established in 2007, four years after armed groups in Darfur took up arms against the central government in protest at the poverty and marginalisation suffered by the people of this region of western Sudan.  

Between 2003 and 2008 this vast region was the scene of a bloody conflict that killed more than 300,000 people, according to the UN.