ARMED ROBBERY REPORTED AT STAFF RESIDENCE OF UN-AFRICAN UNION DARFUR FORCE

Unidentified gunmen broke into a guest house yesterday occupied by personnel from the hybrid African Union-United Nations peacekeeping operation in Darfur, known as UNAMID.

The two men demanded the keys for a couple of UNAMID vehicles parked in the compound of the guest house in Mournei, approximately 80 kilometres from the West Darfur capital, El Geneina.

UNAMID said that the security officer at the guest house escaped without suffering any injuries and was able to report the incident to Sudanese police, informing them that the bandits got away with a VHF hand held radio and DVD player.

The peacekeeping mission tasked with quelling the violence in the war-ravaged western flank of Sudan also reported that banditry remains widespread in West Darfur, UN spokesperson Michele Montas told the press in New York.

Meanwhile, in South Darfur, Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Susana Malcorra, today travelled to the provincial capital Nyala to pay a courtesy visit on the Wali, or Governor, during which they discussed issues related to the joint AU-UN mission.

The Wali indicated that his government had approved land for UNAMID in South Darfur and reaffirmed his government's commitment to cooperate with the peacekeeping operation.

While in Nyala, Ms. Malcorra also met with UNAMID officials and toured the peacekeepers' facilities, including the Pakistan Level III hospital where she was briefed on the progress of construction work underway.

More than one year on from transferring peacekeeping operations to UNAMID from the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS), well over 12,000 of the 19,555 military personnel authorized by the Security Council are now in place across Darfur.

The hybrid force was set up to protect civilians in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million have been forced from their homes since fighting erupted in 2003, pitting rebels against Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen.
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BOOSTING DEPLOYMENT OF UN-AFRICAN UNION FORCE FOCUS OF DARFUR MEETING

Representatives of the Government of Sudan, the African Union and the United Nations met today in Darfur to discuss ways to facilitate and expedite deployment of the joint peacekeeping force tasked with quelling the violence in the strife-torn region.

Participants at the fifth meeting of the Tripartite Committee on the AU-UN peacekeeping operation in Darfur (UNAMID) noted that the deployment of military forces, including troops, officers and military observers, has reached 67 per cent as of the end of March.

Speaking to the press after today's meeting in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support Susana Malcorra said the steady increase in deployment over the past year was an indication of the success of the regular Tripartite Committee meetings.

At full strength, UNAMID is slated to become the world body's largest peacekeeping operation, with some 26,000 military and police personnel.

In his latest report on UNAMID, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that more than a year after it was set up, the operation still lacks critical logistical equipment, especially air power.

"The provision of outstanding equipment, in particular military helicopter assets, remains critical to increasing the mobility and operational impact of the mission," he stated, calling on Member States who are in a position to provide these vital resources to do so without further delay.

The next Tripartite Committee meeting is scheduled to be held in Darfur in early June.

UNAMID was set up over a year ago by the Security Council to protect civilians in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million have been forced from their homes since fighting erupted in 2003, pitting rebels against Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen.
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EGYPTIAN TROOPS ARRIVE IN DARFUR TO BOOST AFRICAN UNION-UN FORCE

The hybrid United Nations-African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Darfur, known as UNAMID, received a boost today from the arrival of 100 personnel from the second Egyptian Infantry Battalion.

Another 100 troops from the battalion are slated to arrive tomorrow in the strife-torn western flank of Sudan as a meeting of the Tripartite Committee – comprising the Government of Sudan, the AU and the UN – is scheduled to take place for the first time in Darfur.

Under-Secretary-General for Field Support Susana Malcorra is expected to attend the meeting in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which will examine ways to facilitate and expedite deployment of the AU-UN peacekeeping operation in the region.

The hybrid force was set up by the Security Council to protect civilians in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million have been forced from their homes since fighting erupted in 2003, pitting rebels against Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen.

More than one year on from transferring the task of suppressing the violence to UNAMID from the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS), well over 12,000 of the 19,555 military personnel authorized by the Security Council are now in place across Darfur.

In related news, UNAMID reported that an investigation team was dispatched to a fire that broke out last night at the Al Riyad camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), near El Geneina in West Darfur. As well as leaving a large number of people homeless, the blaze caused heavy damage to about 35 shelters and the loss of many animals.

This follows last week's arson attack in the West Darfur Abu Zar camp for IDPs in which two people were killed and three were rushed to hospital in El Geneina with serious injuries.

Meanwhile, the hybrid peacekeeping force characterized the security situation in Darfur for the past 72 hours as relatively calm apart from a few incidents of banditry and carjacking in both North and West Darfur. In the past few weeks, UNAMID has reported a rise in attacks on peacekeeping staff and harassment of civilians in the region.

There has also been concern recently over the safety of humanitarian workers, many of whom have been ordered to leave the region following the indictment earlier this month of Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur.
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