Tensions sparked by recent clashes over IDPs’ participation in the Doha peace process negotiations peaked yesterday afternoon, when hundreds of IDPs took to the streets of the camp, some protesting the talks, others supporting them. Many were armed with sticks and machetes, and sporadic shooting was heard throughout the camp. Over 7000 people, many of them women and children, sought protection at UNAMID’s local CPC, where security is ensured by the Mission’s troops and Formed Police Units (FPUs).

UNAMID has stepped up its security measures and increased its forces to ensure the safety of the people gathered around the CPC. The Mission is also working with local aid groups to provide medical assistance to those in need, including several women who had given birth. UNAMID FPUs are conducting round-the-clock patrols within the camp. The Mission’s civilian staff is mediating talks between the Community leaders, conducting other reconciliation activities and is in constant contact with the Government authorities of South Darfur. All these measures have succeeded in restoring calm to a large part of the camp.

UNAMID Deputy Joint Special Representative Mohammed Yonis urged all parties to exercise restraint to prevent any further violence. “Violence will only add to the people’s suffering,” he said. “It is only through working together and talking to each other that we will bring peace to this land.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on all parties to “address their differences through political dialogue and to refrain from any action that could incite violence.”

At 17:15hrs today a UNAMID helicopter carrying Sudanese and Mission Security Officers took off from Nyala. The team landed in Oum Sader, approximately 55 km north of Nyala and 50 kilometers east of Kass, for the pick-up of the missing crew member.

The aircraft touched-down in Nyala at 20:15hrs with the Russian pilot who is to be debriefed following a medical check-up.

The pilot was reported missing after his aircraft landed in an undesignated area on 26 July and was met by unidentified hostile elements. The assailants robbed and beat up several of the passengers and crew.  While the group safely returned to Nyala on 27 July, the pilot had been unaccounted for.

UNAMID will report further on this incident once more details become available.

The fighting has since stopped and government authorities have arrested four suspects and confiscated weapons found in their houses. Humanitarian assistance to the camp has been suspended due to the precarious security situation. UNAMID continues to investigate and is closely monitoring the situation.

A number of the Mission’s substantive divisions planted saplings outside the UNAMID headquarters compound in El Fasher, North Darfur. The campaign is scheduled to be repeated every two months, to reflect UNAMID’s commitment to promote a sense of environmental responsibility in the region.

The delegation, which arrived in El Fasher, North Darfur this afternoon, will meet with the Mission’s leadership tomorrow morning before travelling to two model villages in North Darfur and then returning to Khartoum.

The agreement was mediated by a reconciliation committee composed of native administrators and local leaders. The Deputy Wali (Governor) of West Darfur, Mr. Abolgasim Baraka, thanked the mediation team for their initiative and urged all non-signatory movements to join the peace process.

“It is our pleasure to open this library, the fruit of the continued collaboration with our brothers in UNAMID,” said State Chief Prosecutor Mahdi Bosch. “It will provide an invaluable service and enhance the capacity of members of the legal profession.”

The books were donated by the Mission’s Human Rights component and will be made available to legal professionals, students, aid workers as well as the general public. The library will continue to be updated with contributions from UNAMID and the State Ministry of Justice.

“This library is just one stage in UNAMID’s efforts to help improve,” said Koffi Wogomebou, Head of the Mission’s regional Human Rights office, which also provides training for state judges, prosecutors and police as part of its mandate. “One day, the international community will go, but this library will stay.”

Today also marks the launch of the North Darfur Human Rights Sub-forum, which brings together representatives from the state government and the humanitarian community. It was formed in response to recommendations made by the African Union Panel on Darfur. The sub-forum aims at improving communication between the State and the humanitarian community on issues of human rights and the rule of law, including following up on cases of human rights violations and discussing joint projects and initiatives.

The eight Government representatives include the State’s Chief Prosecutor, Police Commissioner, Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner and the Wali’s (Governor’s) Advisor for Women and Children. Aid workers will be represented by the United Nations Country Team, UNAMID, and a host of national and international groups.

Mr. Gambari, who is also the Joint Special Representative of the UN and AU in Darfur, told an open Council debate that there were encouraging signs pointing towards a possible deal to end a conflict that has raged for seven years.

“Civil society is now more involved in peace talks than ever, the Government of Sudan is demonstrating renewed commitment to negotiations, and the leaders of most armed opposition movements are either participating in or are expressing an interest in participating in the talks,” he said.

The latest round of peace talks wrapped up earlier this month in Doha, Qatar, where the Government has been mediating discussions between Khartoum and the rebel Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM).

Mr. Gambari said today that UNAMID has also begun a process of internal political dialogue within Darfur that aims to give civil society a greater voice in the peace process.

“The purpose of the dialogue will be to focus in detail on issues that affect a wide cross-section of Darfurians, and in particular on those issues that are the root causes of the Darfur conflict, including political and economic marginalization, land, justice and reconciliation.

“In this way, the dialogue will both inform and ensure Darfurian ‘buy in’ on the final contents of the peace agreements to be signed between the Government and armed movements.”

But warned that the overall security situation continues to deteriorate in the remote and arid region on Sudan’s western flank.

Government forces have clashed with members of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), dislodging the rebel group from several of its traditional strongholds and disrupting its main supply routes.

JEM withdrew from the Doha talks as the fighting resumed and is yet to re-engage, Mr. Gambari noted, adding that the Abdul Wahid faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) also attacked Government forces recently, leading to civilian casualties.

Inter-communal fighting between the Misseriya and Nawaiba communities, two semi-nomadic Arab tribes, also spiked in May and June before a peace agreement was reached at the end of last month. More than 250 people were killed in those clashes in those two months alone.

“It is fortunate that this agreement is largely holding and fighting between the groups has largely ceased,” the Joint Special Representative said.

Given these developments, and an increase in attacks against humanitarian personnel, which has hampered the delivery of aid to people in need, “the Darfur peace process is at a critical juncture,” he warned.

In line with the Secretary-General’s most recent report on the work of UNAMID, the Security Council is being asked to extend the mandate of the mission, which begun operations in Darfur at the start of 2008.

Meanwhile, a UNAMID helicopter was today used to pick up and transport to safety two German aid workers who have been released after 35 days in captivity in the north of the region. The mission said both workers appear to be in good health.