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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DARFUR RIFE WITH VIOLENCE AGAINST PEACEKEEPERS, CIVILIANS, UN SAYS

DARFUR RIFE WITH VIOLENCE AGAINST PEACEKEEPERS, CIVILIANS, UN SAYS
New York, Mar 18 2009 6:00PM

Attacks on peacekeeping staff, carjacking, other banditry, and harassment of civilians continue to proliferate in Darfur, the African Union-United Nations mission in the strife-torn region of Sudan (UNAMID) reported today.

A UNAMID vehicle was carjacked in Nyala, South Darfur, this morning by armed men in military uniforms, and on Monday, two of the mission's national staff members were stopped while they were driving a UN vehicle, beaten and left by five armed men dressed in civilian clothes in El Geneina, West Darfur.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday condemned an ambush that led to the death of a blue helmet, the second attack on a peacekeeping patrol in the region in a little over a week, and said he was "deeply concerned by the increased security threats faced by UNAMID in Darfur.

At the same time, concern continues to mount over the safety of humanitarian workers, many of whom have been ordered to leave the region following the recent indictment of Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur.

The joint UN/Government of Sudan assessments of humanitarian gaps in Darfur being conducted in the wake of those expulsions continue, having been extended by one day to be completed tomorrow, UNAMID added.

The three assessment teams will have wrap-up meetings at the level of state Government tomorrow and then travel to Sudan's capital, Khartoum, where they will sort through the data for the following few days, the mission said.

Meanwhile, the number of internally displaced persons (IDP) fleeing violence and harassment continues to grow, with new arrivals in the Zam Zam camp in North Darfur pushing the total in the camp to 80,000.

The majority of the newcomers are from villages and IDP camps in South Darfur, but there are also arrivals from North Darfur.

An estimated 300,000 people have died and another 3 million have been displaced in Darfur, where rebels have been fighting Government forces and allied Arab militiamen, known as the Janjaweed, since 2003.
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