11 August 2010 – A camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur that has been the scene of recent tensions remains on edge and insecure, with reports of gunfire overnight, the United Nations said today.

The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) added that the Joint UN-African Union Special Representative for Darfur, Ibrahim Gambari, travelled to Kalma camp today for meetings with senior authorities in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state.

Mr. Gambari, joined by the UN Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator Georg Charpentier, as well as Government officials, discussed the need to find amicable and practical solutions to resolve the tensions and ensure protection for all IDPs and civilians.

Tensions in Kalma rose late last month after the conclusion of the latest round of peace talks in Doha, Qatar, with some groups contending they were unrepresented. Thousands of IDPs took part in deadly protests in the camp.

In addition, Government officials in South Darfur are demanding that the joint UN-AU peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, hand over six local leaders – five men and one woman – who sought protection at the mission’s community policing centre (CPC) outside the camp following last week’s protests.

A team from UNAMID that visited Kalma yesterday has reported that large parts of the camp appeared deserted, the inhabitants having left for either the CPC or one of the surrounding villages.

“An inter-agency mission carried out from 4 to 8 August and covering 11 villages near Nyala estimates that around 450 to 500 households have arrived there from Kalma,” UNAMID stated in information released to the media.

The team recommended immediate humanitarian intervention to all 11 villages, even those where no Kalma residents were found, it added, due to dire conditions, especially in sanitation, health and education.

- UN News Service

- Photo: Albert Gonzalez Farran/UNAMID

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