All blue helmets to exit Sudan within six months, says UN

Without UN peacekeepers, there are fears that Darfur will descend deeper into violence

A Sudanese man takes part in a protest against the end of the mandate of the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur, December 30, 2020. AFP

The UN on Wednesday said all peacekeepers would leave Sudan's Darfur region by July 2021, bringing fears of a return to violence in the restive western province.

The mandate of the joint UN and African Union mission to Darfur runs out on December 31.

The UN will then hand over responsibility to Sudan’s transitional government and pull out its blue helmet troops.

“This will involve repatriating troops, their vehicles and other equipment, separation of international and national staff as well as a sequential closure of the mission’s team sites and offices, and handing them over to designated entities,” the mission said.

“This process should result in the withdrawal of all uniformed and civilian personnel from Sudan by June 30, 2021, except for a liquidation team that will finalise any residual issues and complete the administrative closure.”

The force was sent to Darfur in 2007 to end a bitter conflict between government forces and local rebels.

It now has about 6,000 military and police personnel and more than 1,500 civilian staff in the region.

The UN Security Council on December 22 agreed not to extend its mandate under pressure from Russia, several African nations and Sudan’s transitional government, which signed a peace deal with key Darfur rebel groups in October.

The mission will be replaced by a smaller political mission, which will be known as the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, focused on building institutions and holding elections.

From January 1, Khartoum is responsible for protecting civilians, delivering aid and solving disputes across Darfur, which has been beset by conflict and bouts of  violence since 2003, the UN mission said.

The UN will continue to help Khartoum tackle “security, political and economic challenges”.

Campaigners warn of continuing violence in Darfur and claim human rights abuses by military chiefs within the transitional government that replaced long-standing leader Omar Al Bashir, who was ousted in April 2019.

Amnesty International says the mission's mandate should be extended by six months to ensure the safety of the people of Darfur, where armed groups continue to kill civilians and ransack villages.