[ 2011-07-30 ]

UN renews Darfur peacekeeping mission
KHARTOUM (AFP) - The UN Security Council has
extended the mandate of the hybrid UN-African
Union peacekeeping force in Sudan's war-torn
Darfur region (UNAMID) for one year.

In the resolution passed late on Friday, the
Security Council also welcomed the planned review
of the number of uniformed personnel required for
the mission to operate effectively, a UN statement
said.

UNAMID, established in 2007, is the largest UN
peacekeeping operation in the world with around
23,000 uniformed personnel and an annual budget,
up to June 30, of more than $1.8 billion.

The Security Council also demanded that all
parties to the Darfur conflict, "including all
armed movements, engage in talks immediately, and
without preconditions," to reach a permanent
ceasefire and a comprehensive peace settlement.

Earlier this month, the government signed a peace
accord in Doha with the Liberation and Justice
Movement, a coalition of a rebel splinter
factions.

But Darfur's main armed groups -- the Justice and
Equality Movement (JEM), and factions of the Sudan
Liberation Army headed by Minni Minnawi and
Abdelwahid Nur -- did not sign the agreement, with
JEM sources saying it failed to address the key
issues.

Some analysts say the accord was aimed primarily
at pleasing the international community, rather
than the people of Darfur.

At least 300,000 people have been killed and 1.9
million people have fled their homes since the
Darfur conflict erupted in 2003 between non-Arab
rebels and the Arab-dominated Khartoum regime, the
United Nations says.

The government puts the death toll at 10,000 and
blames the ongoing lack of security on tribal
conflict, minority armed forces and banditry.

Source - AFP

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