UN peacekeeping chief visits operations in Sudan, South Sudan

The chief of United Nations peacekeeping has begun his visit to field operations in Sudan and South Sudan, including Sudan's troubled region of Darfur, a UN spokesperson said here Monday. Martin Nesirky, the UN spokesman, told a daily news briefing here that Herve Ladsous, the UN under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, paid his first visit on Sunday to one of the 16 field operations worldwide, choosing the largest -- the African Union-UN Mission (UNAMID) in Darfur. Ladsous, a French national, became the UN peacekeeping chief in early October. Ladsous said that peace process must be a Darfurian-led process and emphasized that the UN efforts were aimed at making the process as inclusive as possible. Ladsous visited Abyei on Monday, where the newest UN peacekeeping operation -- the UN Interim Security Force (UNISFA) -- is operating, Nesirky said. The area is disputed by South Sudan but controlled by the Sudanese government. The under-secretary-general will visit South Sudan and the UN mission there later this week, as well as the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, where he will meet with officials from the African Union and the UN Office to the African Union (UNOAU), the spokesman said.