UN-African Union mission chief meets with senior Darfur official

The humanitarian situation was among the issues discussed in a meeting today between the head of the United Nations-African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and a top official in the war-torn region of western Sudan.

UN-AU Joint Special Representative Rodolphe Adada met with Minni Minawi, a former rebel who currently serves as both Chairman of the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority (TDRA) and Special Assistant to President Omar Al-Bashir.

Mr. Adada and Mr. Minawi also conferred on bolstering security and development, as well as the role UNAMID can play in supporting Darfurians through more Quick Impact Projects (QIPs).

In addition, they discussed the need for closer contact between the mission and the TDRA.

UNAMID was established by the Security Council 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.