UN tries to resolve Darfur suspension

United Nations officials were on Monday trying to break a diplomatic impasse after the Sudanese government suspended their operations in the western region of Darfur. The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement issued on Saturday, said it had instructed local authorities in Darfur to suspend all activities of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) in the three Darfur states, except those of two affiliated agencies: the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the World Food Programme which provide life-saving aid to millions of people in the region. The government accused UNMIS of exceeding its mandate in Darfur when it transported a commander of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) on Thursday. Foreign ministry spokesman Jamal Mohamed Ibrahim said that UN envoy Jan Pronk had been summoned to give an explanation of the alleged helicopter ride given to the Darfur rebel leader on Monday. The foreign ministry said it considered the incident, "a flagrant violation of the country’s sovereignty and a violation of the agreement under which the UN operates in Sudan." In the meantime, UNMIS air operations have suspended all Darfur flights until further notice, after the head of military intelligence of the Sudanese armed forces indicated that all UNMIS flights coming to Darfur would be prohibited from landing. The rebel commander, Suleiman Mohamed Jamous, was the humanitarian coordinator for the SLM/A before it split in November 2005 and the main rebel contact for the approximately 14,000 humanitarian aid workers in Darfur. Jamous was a member of Minni Minnawi’s SLM/A faction who signed the Darfur Peace Agreement on 5 May, but was imprisoned for his opposition to the peace deal. Mahjoub Hussein, spokesperson for Minnawi’s SLM/A faction criticised the government’s decision on Monday, saying that it would lead to starvation of the people of Darfur. On Sunday, the SLM/A faction led by Abdelwahid al-Nur, who continues to object to the Darfur peace deal, also condemned the UN suspension, saying Khartoum was determined to continue killing the people of Darfur. "By suspending the UN mission in Darfur, the government of Sudan is preparing to finalise the last chapter of its genocidal policy in the absence of the direct supervision of the international community," the faction’s spokesperson Jaffer Monro said in a press statement.