Darfur joint force for the protection of civilians would be established in the coming days, announced the head of UN Integrated Transitional Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) after a meeting with the deputy chairman of the Sovereign Council.
Volker Perthes met with Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemetti” on Wednesday after a press briefing the day before where he expressed concern about the slow pace of the implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement (JPA) particularly the security arrangements.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the Sovereign Council said Hemetti briefed Volker Perthes about the progress achieved in the JPA implementation and praised the missions for the close contacts with the government.
“The First Deputy informed him that the National Implementation Follow-up Committee (NIFC), for Juba Peace Agreement in the coming days will issue important decisions related to the establishment of the joint forces that will be composed of regular forces and peace partners,” said Perthes according to the statement.
On Tuesday Perthes voiced his concern about the “non-implementation or delays in the implementation” of important provisions of the Juba Peace Agreement, especially the security arrangements, including the establishment of joint security forces.
He also expressed his concern about the establishment of ceasefire implementation and monitoring structure, adding he got different explanations from the Sudanese parties.
“We asked about this issue and the reasons for the delay in the implementation of these (accords). We received answers pointing to the lack of funding or the lack of political will – and maybe both of them,” he stated in Arabic.
Also, Peretz underlined the importance of forming a unified national army, stressing that the presence of several armies would not help achieve stability in Sudan.
“No country can be stable with 3, 5, 7 or more separate armies. Care must be given at least to preparing and discussing a road map that will eventually and gradually lead to the formation of a single national army,” he said.
On the same day, the NIFC held a meeting chaired by the deputy head of the Sovereign Council with the participation of several members of the Council representing the Sudanese Revolutionary Front factions, the prime minister and the governor of the Darfur region.
NIFC Spokesman Noreldaem Taha stated that the meeting discussed the challenges facing the implementation of the security arrangements, and recommended expediting the formation of the joint force.
“The meeting decided to convene a meeting of the Joint Security Arrangements Commission to establish mechanisms for command and control related to security arrangements,” he said without details.
In line with the Juba peace agreement, a 12000-troop force will be formed to protect civilians after the withdrawal of the African Union-United Nations peacekeepers from Darfur.
Last April, Mohamed Hassan Eltaishi, a member of the Sovereign Council and peace negotiator announced that Darfur joint forces would be formed within two weeks.
“Now the signatory groups have handed over the lists of the forces participating in the first batch that will be formed. Also, It has been agreed on the lists (of troops ) and equipment that will be used by the force,” he further said.