15 October 2008 -- A team of United Nations Police Advisers from Nyala, Sector South Headquarters, together with the Bangladeshi Formed Police Unit (FPU), have embarked on confidence building and security assessment patrols 24 hours a day, seven days a week at the Kalma camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as per the UNAMID Police mandate.

The primary focus of these patrols is, for UNAMID Police, not only to conduct confidence building, but also create an interactive and friendly environment conducive to peaceful co-existence between IDPs as well as demonstrate the commitment of UNAMID to achieving lasting peace in the region.

At a meeting on 10 October with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy,  representatives of Darfur's internally displaced persons requested that UNAMID boost its presence in and around the IDP camps to ensure the security and protection of civilians.

Formed Police Units are specialized, self-sufficient and fully mobile rapid reaction police units, serving with UNAMID.  They are entirely composed of police elements from a single contingent, with expertise in crowd-management and other police tactical operations.

The Bangladeshi FPU was first deployed to Darfur in November 2007, as part of the United Nations 'Heavy Support Package'  for the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS.)  The FPU remained in Darfur when AMIS transferred authority to UNAMID on 31 December 2007.