Thursday, August 12, 2010

UNAMID: Sudan govt's dealing with Kalma camp incident contradicts signed deal - Large regions of Kalma deserted

AN inter-agency mission carried out from 4 to 8 August and covering eleven villages near Nyala, South Darfur, western Sudan estimates that around 450 to 500 households have arrived there from Kalma IDP camp, South Darfur.

The United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) team recommended immediate humanitarian intervention to all eleven villages, even those where no Kalma refugees were found, due to dire conditions, especially in sanitation, health and education.

The head of UNAMID, Ibrahim Gambari, said that threatening and setting a date for handing over culprits of the Kalma camp incidents does not conform to signed deals between the mission and the Sudanese government.

At a press conference held in Khartoum at the beginning of this week, the Governor of South Darfur State, Abdel Hamid Musa Kasha, disclosed the government's intention to remove Kalma camp described as military base and political platform for Abdel Wahid Al-Nur.

There was an exchange of gunfire at Kalma camp, a U.N. spokesman said on Wednesday. "The situation in Kalma remains tense and insecure," U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters. "There were reports of gunfire overnight." It was not clear who fired the shots, though there has been sporadic fighting between supporters of Darfur peace talks in Doha and those who oppose the talks.

The Department of Peacekeeping Operations says that the Joint AU-UN Special Representative, Ibrahim Gambari, and the UN Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator, George Charpentier, travelled with Government interlocutors to the Kalma camp on Wednesday, 11 August 2010 for meetings with senior authorities in Nyala. They discussed the need to find amicable and practical solutions to resolve the situation and ensure protection for all displaced people and civilians.

SOURCES: Five reports here below.

SUDAN: Thousands struggle to survive as Kalma aid cut off
Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
Date: 12 Aug 2010 /via ReliefWeb - excerpt:
NAIROBI, 12 August 2010 (IRIN) - Humanitarian access to Kalma, the largest settlement for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan's Southern Darfur State remains cut off ten days after the government blocked UN agencies and the last five NGOs still operating in the camp from distributing food and medical aid to an estimated 82,000 IDPs. [...]

At a press conference held in Khartoum at the beginning of this week, the Governor of South Darfur State, Abdel Hamid Musa Kasha, disclosed the government's intention to remove Kalma camp described as military base and political platform for Abdel Wahid Al-Nur.
More gunfire at Darfur camp, aid workers barred: UN
Source: Reuters by Louis Charbonneau
Date: Thursday, 12 August 2010 at 14:17 GMT - excerpt:
UNITED NATIONS - There was an exchange of gunfire at a refugee camp in Sudan's western Darfur region that has been the focus of a tense standoff between international peacekeepers and Khartoum, a U.N. spokesman said on Wednesday.

Sudan has demanded that U.N.-African Union peacekeepers in Darfur (UNAMID) hand over six Darfuris accused by Khartoum of instigating clashes in South Darfur's Kalma Camp in late July that killed at least five people. UNAMID has refused to do so.

"The situation in Kalma remains tense and insecure," U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters. "There were reports of gunfire overnight."

It was not clear who fired the shots, though there has been sporadic fighting between supporters of Darfur peace talks in Doha and those who oppose the talks.
UN - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
Date: Wednesday, 11 August 2010 /via ISRIA
The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Martin Nesirky, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Excerpt:
The situation in Kalma in Darfur remains tense and insecure, according to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). There were reports of gunfire overnight. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations says that the Joint AU-UN Special Representative, Ibrahim Gambari, and the UN Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator, George Charpentier, travelled with Government interlocutors to the Kalma camp today for meetings with senior authorities in Nyala. They discussed the need to find amicable and practical solutions to resolve the situation and ensure protection for all displaced people and civilians.
Darfur/UNAMID Daily Media Brief
Source: United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
El Fasher Darfur, western Sudan
Date: Wednesday, 11 August 2010 /via APO Thursday, 12 August 2010:
Security situation update
The general security situation in and around Kalma Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in South Darfur is relatively calm, but remains unpredictable. UNAMID troops continue to patrol the area, 24 hours a day.

A UNAMID team which visited Kalma camp yesterday has reported that large regions of the settlement appeared deserted, the inhabitants having left for either the nearby UNAMID Community Policing Center, Nyala or one of the surrounding villages.

An inter-agency mission carried out from 4 to 8 August and covering eleven villages near Nyala estimates that around 450 to 500 households have arrived there from Kalma. The team recommended immediate humanitarian intervention to all eleven villages, even those where no Kalma refugees were found, due to dire conditions, especially in sanitation, health and education.

UNAMID patrols
UNAMID military forces conducted 102 patrols including routine, short-range, long-range, night and humanitarian escort patrols covering 93 villages and IDP camps.

UNAMID police advisors conducted 145 patrols in villages and IDP camps.
Government's dealing with Kalma Incident contradicts signed deal says UNAMID
Source: Miraya FM
Date: Wednesday, 11 August 2010 20:11
Last Updated Thursday, 12 August 2010 10:43
The head of the United Nations/African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Ibrahim Gambari, said that threatening and setting a date for handing over culprits of the Kalma camp incidents does not conform to signed deals between the mission and the Sudanese government.

In the same context, Mutrif Siddiq, the state minister of humanitarian affairs confirmed that the demands made by the government of southern Darfur are as follows, handing over of the perpetrators of the Kalma incidents, re-locating the camp, rehabilitate those who fled the camp to other areas.

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