US envoy meets with Darfur peacekeepers
US President Barack Obama’s envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration, on Thursday visited the headquarters of the UN African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). He met with the mission’s chief deputies, Henry Anyido and Mohamed Yonis. He also met with the Force Commander Patrick Nyamvumba and with representatives of UN humanitarian agencies. He then visited Solinga, a “model village” in North Darfur built for resettling some Darfur’s millions of refugees and internally displaced persons.
US President Barack Obama’s envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration, on Thursday visited the headquarters of the UN African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). He met with the mission’s chief deputies, Henry Anyido and Mohamed Yonis. He also met with the Force Commander Patrick Nyamvumba and with representatives of UN humanitarian agencies. He then visited Solinga, a “model village” in North Darfur built for resettling some Darfur’s millions of refugees and internally displaced persons.
UNAMID said in a press release that “the US envoy shared his views on how to better integrate the efforts of the Government of the Sudan, UNAMID, aid agencies, and other stakeholders to secure peace and stability in the region”.
The peacekeeping mission noted that it assesses the security situation in El Fasher as “tense” following protests on Sunday in which seven people were slain by security forces. A curfew was put in effect Tuesday but was lifted Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Gration had met with the President of the Government of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir, in the capital of South Sudan, Juba. He told a press conference there that the referendum on self-determination for South Sudan and Abyei should be conducted on time and in a free and fair manner. He said that his discussions with Kiir centered on the need to implement there remainder of the terms of the 2005 north-south peace agreement. Gration noted that his country would provide technical support for the demarcation of the border between North and South.
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