Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Sudan’s Burhan Says Agreed with U.S. Diplomat that UNAMID Must Leave
Al-Burhan speaks in a meeting with the government and FFC negotiating delegations in Juba on 22 Feb 2020 (ST photo)

May 26, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - The Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council discussed with U.S. senior diplomats the withdrawal of UNAMID from Darfur and agreed that the hybrid mission should leave the western Sudan region by the end of October.

The Sudanese presidency on Tuesday issued a statement saying that Abdel Fattah al-Burhan received a joint phone call from Tibor Nagy Assistant Secretary for U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs and U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan Donald Booth.

"During the phone call, the Chairman of the Sovereign Council agreed with the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan to put an end to the UNAMID mission next October," said a statement released by the Sovereign Council after the call.

"Therefore, there is no room for the renewal of its mandate," stressed the statement.

Al-Burhan has voiced his opposition to the extension of the UNAMID mandate and to the inclusion of a military component in the new political mission that Sudan had requested the UN Security Council to deploy in the country to support the transitional government to achieve the peace implementation and democratic transition.

The statement stressed that the two parties also agreed that the mandate of the new UN mission will be in accordance with the national vision detailed in Sudan’s letter to the United Nations on February 27th.

Sudan in a letter sent by the Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok spoke about capacity building programme for its armed forces.

However, during a meeting to discuss a joint report about UNAMID withdrawal on 26 April, U.S. and UK said concerned about the deterioration of the security situation in Darfur and pointed to the need to include police units in the new mission to protect civilians in Darfur.

"(...) we firmly believe that the new mission can and should be a partner to the Government of Sudan in responding to the ongoing protection of civilians’ challenges in Darfur, particularly in the IDP camps," said the British Ambassador Jonathan Allen, alluding to the UN police force.

Nagy or Booth did not issue a statement about the phone call.

(ST)

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