27 January 2011 - A verification mission from Shangil Tobaya to Tabit, North Darfur, was unable to complete its mission yesterday after the resumption of aerial bombardment in the area.

The Shangil Tobaya team site later reported that, at 1800hrs, approximately 200 Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) soldiers, on 40 vehicles, surrounded the team site’s exit as well as the adjacent makeshift camp, where thousands of civilians recently displaced by the December 2010 clashes have settled.

Four displaced persons were detained by SAF military. The SAF commander at the scene stated that they were carrying out their duties and intended to persuade the IDPs to return to their original camps. He then threatened to burn down the makeshift camp and UNAMID team site, if the peacekeepers continued to interfere. The UNAMID Blue Helmets stood their ground and the SAF troops eventually departed.

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Chris Cycmanick, Officer-in-Charge, Media Relations; cycmanick@un.org, mobile: +249 (0)91 253 8436

Mayada Umbadda, Media Relations; umbadda@un.org, mobile: +249 (0)91 250 1966