Situation in Darfur "very troubling" says head of UN peacekeeping operations

The situation in the Darfur region of Sudan has been described by the head of United Nations peacekeeping operations as '"very troubling".

Hervé Ladsous spoke in the Security Council on Monday as he presented the report of the Secretary-General on the joint UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

He said civilians in the region continue to suffer as a result of inter-communal violence and UNAMID is operating under difficult conditions, including a recent attack on its base in which a peacekeeper was killed.

"The situation in Darfur is very troubling. Indeed there have been mildly encouraging developments in the peace process but, meantime, a fully inclusive political settlement has yet to be reached. UNAMID is working hard to implement its mandate in these circumstances which remain very challenging." (21")

Mr. Ladsous said that resolving the conflict in Darfur continues to require a combined effort by the Security Council, the African Union and the wider international community to persuade belligerent parties that there is no military solution to the crisis.

The crisis in Darfur started in 2003 when fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and its allied Janjaweed militias and armed rebels.

The UN estimates that tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people were killed, and close to two million internally displaced by the fighting.