Darfur / UNAMID Daily Media Brief
EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, April 27, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — UNAMID Daily Media Brief, 27 April 2009
Security situation in Darfur
During the past 72-hours, the security situation in Darfur has been reported to be relatively calm;
A UNAMID vehicle was carjacked on 24 April near Zalingei airstrip and was later recovered by GoS Police on the same day, 9 km south east of Zalingei without any tyres. The vehicle was taken to Zalingei GoS Police station after getting tyres from UNAMID Transport section.
UNAMID conducted 24 confidence building patrols, 33 escort patrols and 7 night patrols covering 55 villages/IDP Camps. Similarly, UNAMID police conducted 95 patrols in and around the IDP camps and a total of 29 patrols in and around the villages.
UNAMID Deputy Force Commander bids farewell to officials in West Darfur
UNAMID Deputy Force Commander, Major-General Emmanuel Karake Karenzi, travelled to the West Darfur town of Zalingei on 22 April, where he attended a medal parade for the Rwandan Battalion serving in the area. During his visit, he took the opportunity to bid farewell to UNAMID officials.
He commended the Rwandan troops for their noble service to the Mission and declared that it was a great pride for him to see that, just 15 years after the genocide in Rwanda, the country’s armed forces have strengthened and made themselves ready to serve in a foreign country for the sake of peace.
He expressed appreciation to the troops for their work, urged them to continue serving with a high level of professionalism and integrity according to their mandated tasks, and reminded them to respect the culture, religion and customs of the population.
Major-General Karenzi, a Rwandan national, joined the former African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) in 2007 and later UNAMID since its inception in January 2008. He will be leaving the Mission soon and will be replaced by Major-General Duna Dumisani from South Africa.
DPKO team visit to UNAMID
A team from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New York arrived in Darfur yesterday to conduct an evaluation and assessment of the Mission from 26 April to 7 May.
Upon its arrival, at UNAMID headquarters in El Fasher, the team was received by the Acting Joint Special Representative, Mr. Hocine Medili and other senior officials.
The purpose of the evaluation is to review UNAMID’s military, police and civilian component’s operational objectives and look at challenges and constraints. The evaluation will also provide best practices and lessons learned in all areas of activity conducted by UNAMID that could be used by other missions.
The team will also visit Nyala, El Geneina and Zalingei in South and West Darfur respectively.
SOURCE
United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
