"We had a very positive and constructive meeting," Al-Nur is quoted as saying.
Note that the statement included urging the UN Security Council to consider changing the mandate of the UNAMID from Chapter 6 to Chapter 7.
Here is the report from Sudan Tribune published Thursday 05 August 2010:
Darfur rebel leader praises UNAMID refusal to handover Kalma residentsClick here to read Sudan Tribune report, 31 July 2010: NCP approves new “domestication” strategy on Darfur.
August 4, 2010 (PARIS) — Darfur rebel leader, Abdel Wahid Al-Nur today praised the refusal of the joint peacekeeping mission to handover six residents of Kalma camp in South Darfur State wanted by the local authorities after bloody clashes last week.
"We welcome the decision of the hybrid peacekeeping operation (UNAMID) to not handover six Internally Displaced people – five men and one woman—sheltered in its office in Kalma camp," Al-Nur told Sudan Tribune today.
11 people were killed when clashes broke out last week between supporters of Nur and partisans of another rebel group Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) which is conducting talks with the Sudanese government in Doha. The first group contests the IDPs representation by the second group.
The Paris based rebel leader made his statement following a meeting with the Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole on Wednesday in the French capital to discuss the latest developments in Darfur following the recent clashes between two groups of the IDPs in Kalma camps over their representation in the peace process.
"We had a very positive and constructive meeting," Al-Nur said. He further stressed that Bassole reassured him about the UNAMID commitment to protect civilians in western Sudan including the six people wanted by South Darfur authorities.
He also said he had spoken all the day with different local leaders urging them to cool down the tension inside the camps and to work hard restore calm and reconciliation between the residents pointing out that "only Sudanese government benefits from such divisions".
Al-Nur said wanted civilians might face torture and killing if they are handed to the Sudanese authorities following a formal demand by South Darfur Governor Abdel Hamid Musa Kasha.
He also said the Sudanese justice is not independent and totally under the control of the government stressing that their handover would create more troubles in the camp.
The rebel leader accused the government of working to dismantle the camp as part of its new policy called "domestication of the peace process".
He further urged the UN Security Council to well consider changing the mandate of the UNAMID from Chapter 6 to Chapter 7 and to give the largest peacekeeping operation the necessary means to fully protect the civilians in the restive region.
Speaking with Sudan Tribune from Kalama camp, two residents who requested not to mention their names said the security forces surround the camp and prevent entry of food to the camp. They also said that women who go outside the camp to bring food to their children are stopped and not allowed to return home.
The UNAMID Daily Media Brief reported today that "no organizations have been allowed to deliver humanitarian aid" to the IDPs in Kalma camp.
Another resident from Kass camp in South Darfur said some one thousand of militiamen gathered today outside the camp and paraded around the area to intimidate the residents.
The same source said they received reports from Zalingei in West Darfur saying some 50 people were arrested by the security service there.
Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) is located near Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, and is home to about 90,000 people, many of whom are supporters of Abdel Wahid Nur. Government forces targeted the camp in a raid that killed dozens of residents in August 2008. (ST)
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Report by Radio Dabanga published Wednesday, 04 August 2010:
Darfur rebel chief calls on ICC to investigate camp violence
(DOHA ) - Dr. Tijani Sese strongly condemned the events that occurred last week in Kalma and Hamidiya camps for displaced people. The camps witnessed fighting among the residents, allegedly between factions loyal to Tijani Sese’s rebel coalition and Abdel Wahid Al Nur’s faction, according to initial UN reports. At least ten were killed.
Sese said that what happened is a crime that requires investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC). In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Sese appealed to displaced people to remain calm and to stop all forms of abuse against each other, which he said weakens the Darfur issue. Sese denied, however, that the Liberation and Justice Movement was involved in the events.
