Peace mission in Sudan's Darfur ends

NYALA, Sudan－The United Nations and the African Union on Thursday ended a 13-year mission to keep the peace in the vast Sudanese region of Darfur, urging all Sudanese parties to ensure a "safe and orderly drawdown" of the United Nations-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur, or UNAMID.

"The peacekeeping mission ended on Thursday Dec 31 at midnight in Darfur," UNAMID's spokesman Ashraf Eissa said. "As of Jan 1 2021,UNAMID's troops and police personnel will focus on providing security for the mission's drawdown activities, personnel, and assets."

He said the phased withdrawal of the mission's approximately 8,000 armed and civilian personnel will be completed inside six months.

In a joint statement, AU Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all Sudanese actors to ensure a safe and orderly drawdown of the forces and the ensuing period of liquidation.

The establishment of "this unique hybrid mission was a historic undertaking, through which both organizations and a number of troop and police contributing countries and donors have been engaged in collective efforts to protect civilians and help build peace in Darfur", the statement said.

Faki and Guterres reiterated their commitment to continuously assisting the government and people of Sudan in consolidating the gains made in the peace process and implementing the National Plan of Action on Civilian Protection.

Milestone peace accord

On Dec 22, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2559 which ends the UNAMID's mandate on Dec 31.

In October, a milestone peace agreement was reached between the Sudanese authorities and two armed groups in Darfur.

Fighting erupted in Darfur between ethnic minority rebels and the central government in 2003. Since then, nearly 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million have been displaced.

The Sudanese government "will take over responsibility for the protection of civilians in the area", UNAMID said.

A UN political mission－the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, or UNITAMS－will be installed in Darfur after UNAMID's departure.

It will be tasked with assisting Sudan's transition, peace-building, and aid disbursement.

Sudan's Foreign Minister Omar Qamareddine said on Thursday that UNAMID contributed to achieving peace.

"It's true that its tenure was marred by some obstacles but it was, overall, good," he said, adding the deployment of government troops across the region will be completed by March.

Xinhua - Agencies