Sudan says no visa denied to Ugandan peacekeepers
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March 29, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese foreign ministry denied
reports that it has refused to grant visas to Ugandan policemen
serving as part of United Nations - African Union mission in Darfur
(UNAMID).
’The Monitor’ newspaper based in Kampala said that Uganda was in the
process of rotating 108 police officers in Darfur but due to the visa
issue, it asked for the United Nations permission to instead extend
the tenure of the existing officers.
According to the report, in a February 21 diplomatic note, Sudan’s
Foreign Affairs Ministry informed UNAMID that requests for visas for
new police peacekeepers "are NOT approved", because "efforts should be
directed towards increasing Arabic-speaking police as agreed".
The foreign ministry spokesperson in Khartoum Khalid Moussa said that
such an action would be inconsistent with agreements that stress the
African nature of the UNAMID force.
However, he acknowledged that Sudan insists that the units serving in
Darfur need to be fluent in Arabic to interact with the local
population.
Moussa also noted that any visa requests are made through the UN and
not the individual countries.
The world’s largest U.N.-funded peacekeeping mission is at 88% of its
total 26,000 strength but says its job to secure the remote area is
difficult in the absence of a peace deal between Khartoum and rebels
who took up arms in 2003.
The performance of UNAMID came under scrutiny by United Nations
Security Council (UNSC) who expressed their displeasure by the
inability of the force to protect civilians.
Furthermore, Khartoum which reluctantly agreed to the force has been
placing obstacles and impediments to the deployment of troops and
helicopters as well as delay in granting visas to members of the
mission.
(ST)
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