23 July 2008 -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir met briefly today with the African Union-United Nations Joint Special Representative for Darfur, Rodolphe Adada, and other senior members of the UN mission’s leadership when he visited UNAMID headquarters in El Fashir.

The Sudanese President reassured the UNAMID leadership of the government’s preparedness to provide security for UNAMID security and convoys.

Due to the President’s visit and airport closure associated with it, the scheduled arrival of the Egyptian engineering contingent has been postponed. New dates are to be confirmed.

Meanwhile, the suspension of the temporary relocations of non-essential UN personnel has remains in place since Friday, July 18. Only about 300 people have been temporarily relocated from Darfur.