Sudan criticises UN over UNAMID exit from Darfur

Sudan on Tuesday accused the United Nations of backtracking on an initial agreement for the exit of the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) from the disputed region.

A UN representative to a tripartite committee of Sudan's government, the UN and the African Union refused to sign the draft agreement reached for the exit of the UNAMID from Darfur, Sudan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The main duty of the tripartite mechanism is to reach a deal on the UNAMID's exit from Darfur, head of Sudan's side to the committee Ambassador Jamal Al-Sheikh said in the statement.

He slammed a recent report by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the failure of the mechanism to reach an agreement.

"I assure that the mechanism has reached a hundred percent agreement on all issues," he said.

Sudan insists that the tripartite agreement should be signed before being submitted to the UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council for a final approval or amendment.

Since last March, the tripartite committee has held a series of meetings in Khartoum to reach a strategy for the exit of UNAMID from the Darfur region.

The committee, comprising 16 Sudanese officials and 13 UN and eight AU representatives, works within the framework of the UNSC Resolution No. 2173.

The resolution demands that the UN chief coordinate with the AU to get acquainted with the views of all parties concerned to come up with recommendations on the UNAMID mandate, its future component, its exit strategy and its relationship with other active UN players in Sudan.

After intensive talks, the committee reached a draft agreement that Khartoum said it fulfills all demands. However, the UN chief said in his report before the UNSC last week that the team proposes a gradual exit for UNAMID from Darfur, to begin from West Darfur State.

According to the proposal, the full exit will take place when the Sudanese government and the armed movements reach a political settlement, a move observers regard as an attempt by the UN to impose a new formula that could cripple the efforts of getting UNAMID out of Darfur.

The relationship between the Sudanese government and UNAMID deteriorated after the mission's report last September in which it accused members of the Sudanese army of committing mass rape at Tabit village in North Darfur State.

The UNAMID is the second biggest peacekeeping mission in the world, after the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It consists of over 20,000 personnel of military, police and civilian components, with a budget of 1.4 million U.S. dollars in 2013.