Peacekeepers Remain Committed Despite Challenges

From the front-line peacekeepers on patrol to the Force Commander, UNAMID’s troops are focused, day in and day out, on carrying out the mandate of the Mission in Darfur.

By Sharon Lukunka

In every UN peacekeeping mission, uniformed military personnel are at the forefront of the operation. They are entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring and observing the security situation, assisting in the promotion of peace and aiding in the implementation of any signed peace deal. Such assistance comes in many forms, not just physical presence and a show of strength. Other forms of assistance include confidence-building exercises designed to strengthen rule-of-law institutions and activities to help build economic mechanism that can help a population recover from long years of conflict.

Lt. Col. S. B. Gwaya is one of the military peacekeepers working in Darfur. He arrived recently to Khor Abeche, South Darfur, as part of the 875 member Tanzanian contingent serving there. Tanzania, as one of the troop-contributing countries for the Mission, has a full battalion deployed across South and East Darfur. Lt. Col. Gwaya typically begins each day at 4:30 a.m., when he engages in his physical exercise routine. Then he attends dawn prayers at 6:00 a.m., after which he has breakfast, which normally consists of a cup of tea and a loaf of bread.

When he first arrives in the office, he checks on the priorities for the day and receives his morning reports. He is briefed by his staff officers and commanders on the latest developments in the security situation during the previous 24 hours. Following the briefing, the Lt. Col. delegates tasks and meets with different contingent commanders, all as part of planning upcoming activities and responding to the latest security situation. Sometimes, he is requested to accompany either the Sector Commander or UNAMID’s Force Commander, the top military officer in the Mission, on operational visits to various parts of Darfur when the security situation requires it.

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On 24 July 2013 in Um Maraheik, North Darfur, a UNAMID peacekeeper converses with students. This school was built in December 2012 as part of UNAMID’s community-based, labour-intensive projects (CLIPs) programme. Photo by Albert González Farran, UNAMID.