The African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) reported that on Tuesday it conducted a training workshop on security coordination for senior and medium level officers from the Sudanese government’s (GoS) Police, National Security and Military Intelligence forces.Note the last few lines of the report. Security in Darfur, and Sudan as a whole, is definitely improving. There was a time, a few years ago, when I could barely keep up with chronicling the day by day, hour by hour, slew of horrific crime reports.
The one-day workshop was conducted at the police headquarters in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, and sought to inform the officers on the mission’s mandate, the Status of Forces Agreement, the host government’s responsibilities and the workings of the UN’s security management system.
In his opening remarks to the participants of the workshop, UNAMID Principal Deputy Joint Special Representative Henry Anyidoho expressed satisfaction for the opportunity for UNAMID and GoS security experts to sit together to discuss operational security procedures that both sides deal with on a daily basis.
“This was our plan for long to share more information with our partners in the government. We strongly believe that sharing and understanding of UN security mechanisms and guidelines by our friends would help them secure the UN staff and property,” said Anyidoho.
The primary responsibility for the security and protection of UN staff members and property rests with Sudan, the host government, Anyidoho emphasized.
The chief of the Sudanese police in North Darfur, General Ahmad Atta Al Manan Osman, expressed his government’s appreciation for the UNAMID initiative and spoke about traffic accidents committed by UNAMID staff.
Osman called upon the mission to find a just means of compensation for those affected, suggesting that insurance companies contracted by UNAMID open offices in Darfur.
General Al Tayeb, head of the National Security force in North Darfur, elaborated on the significance of conducting workshops and seminars between UNAMID and the security apparatus.
Internally displaced persons’ representatives from Abu Shouk and El-Salam camps in North Darfur met with Anyidoho on Sunday to complain about insecurity for residents of the camps.
UNAMID learned the same day that three suspected Janjaweed militia members stole 40 goats at Fatta Burno IDP Camp in North Darfur. One Fatta Burno resident was shot in the leg and evacuated to Kutum Hospital by local residents. (ST Thursday 25 September 2008 05:00)
Who knows, there may come a day when Louis Moreno-Ocampo and Omar Hassan Al-Bashir become Nobel Peace Prize recipients. I am not joking. Those two could be capable of great things, if they thought laterally, together. Stranger things have happened at sea. The Sudanese have a great sense of history. Surely, President Al-Bashir wants to go down in history as a great guy. If only he could rid Khartoum of Al-Qaeda...
Meanwhile ...Darfur refugees in Kalma, full of armed rebels (read terrorists) prepare for violence. God help the children of Sudan ...
Darfur refugees in Kalma prepare for violence
Aid workers and UN peacekeepers are increasingly wary of Kalma and other refugee camps in Darfur, where wary and angry refugees are apparently preparing for violence. A month ago, Sudanese troops killed 31 people at the Kalma camp, half of whom were women and children, and leaders in the camp are expecting more violence. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (9/25) Hat tip UN Wire.
