UNAMID Refuses To Handover Sites To Transition Military Council In Sudan - Official

The African Union - United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) rejected a Sudanese Military Transition Council's (TMC) decree requesting the mission handover its sites, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on Friday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th June, 2019) The African Union - United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) rejected a Sudanese Military Transition Council's (TMC) decree requesting the mission handover its sites, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on Friday.

"We have had no choice but to suspend the handover of UNAMID sites to the Sudanese authorities until the TMC decree is rescinded," Lacroix told the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Sudan.

Lacroix explained the decision to suspend the handover was taken based on the current insecurity in Sudan, the fact that the TMC decree - dated May 13 - contradicts United Nations rules and because of past experiences with looting of the UNAMID camp in El Genenina on May 14-15.

The UNAMID currently undergoes the process of withdrawal from its facilities and intends to exit Darfur by 30 June 2020, Lacriox said.

Months of anti-government protests in Sudan culminated in a military coup on April 11. The TMC came to power and pledged to hold an election within two years. Then-President Omar Bashir, who had been in power for 30 years, was overthrown and then imprisoned. However, citizens' protests demanding a civilian government have continued throughout the country.