The joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has intervened in one of the world’s largest camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) to defuse the tense situation after shooting broke out on Saturday night amid friction over the frail ongoing peace process.
Sporadic shooting from gunmen began just after midnight in the Kalma camp in South Darfur state, which is home to more than 100,000 IDPs, according to a Monday press release from UNAMID.
No fatalities were reported in the overnight shooting but one person sustained a gunshot injury and two suspects have been arrested over the attempted assault on a Sheikh, and five other Sheikhs have sought refuge at a nearby UNAMID site.
The gunmen identified themselves as members of the Abdul Wahid faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), one of numerous rebel groups that have been fighting the government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen in Sudan’s Darfur region since 2003.
UNAMID reported Monday that tensions have been rising in Kalma since the latest round of peace talks between the government and rebels wrapped up last week in Doha, Qatar, with some IDPs at the camp saying they were not fully represented.
An estimated 250 representatives of Darfurian civil society attended the Doha negotiations, including 60 people on behalf of IDPs and refugees, with all envoys elected after months of deliberation, community gatherings and training workshops.
The mission ensured that it was negotiating with Kalma’s leaders to avert an escalation of the violence, while peacekeepers had stepped up their patrols in and around the camp.
Source African Press Agency
African News from NetNewsPublisher.com
Related articles by Zemanta
- Resumption of Fighting Threatens Peace Progress in Sudan (netnewspublisher.com)
- Darfur Rebel Group ‘Justice And Equality Movement’ Pledges to Discharge Child Soldiers (netnewspublisher.com)
- United Nations High Commission for Refugees Calls for Better Treatment of Displaced Somalis (netnewspublisher.com)
