UN calls for political mission in Darfur

A joint United Nations-African Union report released Monday on Sudan and its western region Darfur called for a political mission to replace the peace operation there.
The war in Darfur between Sudanese forces and ethnic minority rebels, who consider themselves marginalized by the government, began in February 2003.
“In Darfur, armed violence between rebel groups has declined, but the fundamental conflict drivers remain unresolved and exacerbate intercommunal tensions”, the report said, adding that civilian protection “is the responsibility of Sudan”.
The announcement raised fears by rights groups that civilians could lose all protection. The UN Security Council will decide on 26 March whether or not to withdraw some 7,800 troops, known as the “Blue Helmets,” from the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
The report explains that “a post-UNAMID mechanism may provide advisory and capacity-building support”, but if a mandate for the “physical protection of civilians” were requested, it “would require a very significant deployment, commensurate with the size of the area of operations”. It adds that without such a mandate, “a post-UNAMID mechanism would not be in a position to provide such protection and should therefore not be expected to do so”.
UNAMID has been deployed in Darfur since 2007 and has deployed up to 16,000 peacekeepers. According to the UN, the conflict has resulted in about 300,000 deaths and more than 2.5 million displaced people since it began in 2003.