27 May 2009 – Dozens of police officers from Sierra Leone today joined the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission, known as UNAMID, in the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan.
Tomorrow, a further 22 Sierra Leoneans will join the 40 who arrived today in El Fasher, including 10 women, and UNAMID intends to deploy them across Darfur following a two-week induction programme.
Meanwhile, the mission reported today that the security situation in the area is relatively calm, having carried out nearly 70 military patrols and 85 police patrols to ensure civilian safety in the past 24 hours.
Yesterday, UNAMID evacuated 19 seriously injured people following clashes, between Sudanese Government forces and armed elements of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), earlier this week in the North Darfur town of Umm Baru. The Mission also delivered medical supplies to the area.
The violence claimed more than 50 lives and forced hundreds to flee their homes, the Mission said in a news release.
UNAMID was established by the Security Council in 2007 to protect civilians in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million have been forced from their homes since fighting erupted in 2003, pitting rebels against Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen.
