Sudan on Saturday said it would monitor travel by UN/African Union peacekeepers in Darfur - a day after the UN Security Council extended the force's mandate and told Khartoum to stop hindering its work. Peace talks between Khartoum and the rebels are under way in Qatar but have been boycotted by the two main rebel groups, and eight people were killed this week in a surge of violence in refugee camps between supporters and opponents of the talks. The UN Security Council extended UNAMID's mandate on Friday for a further year and ordered it to give priority to protecting civilians and ensuring free humanitarian access to refugees. Senior Information Ministry official Rabie Abdelati accused UNAMID on Saturday of failing to halt the violence in the camps and harbouring instigators of the fighting, and said the force must in future inform the government of all travel plans. “UNAMID has not done its job at all – there was shooting, burning, people died and all they did was watch,” Abdelati told Reuters. He was in South Darfur this week when the fighting between refugee groups broke out. “The governor of South Darfur told UNAMID they should either do their job (in Kalma refugee camp) or get out and let the government take over,” he said. UNAMID staff will have their bags searched at the airport and they will have to inform the government before moving on roads even within South Darfur's capital Nyala, he said. “UNAMID should adhere to all the normal procedures of the country and respect its sovereignty,” said Abdelati. “All movement should be in clear coordination with us and no activities should happen without the government's knowledge.” He also said the UN peacekeepers were sheltering people he accused of stirring up trouble in one camp. “The governor is demanding that these five criminals be handed over within ... 48 hours,” he said. UNAMID declined to comment, but it said last week that five local leaders had sought refuge in its police base in Kalma camp, home to 100,000 refugees. It was not clear if these are the men wanted by the government. Meanwhile, violence in south Sudan has forced the aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to suspend its work in the Gumuruk area of troubled Jonglei state, the organization said on Saturday. Three separate security incidents this month, including attacks by armed men, forced MSF to suspend medical aid in the remote healthcare clinic, a statement read. “Attacks on our staff and clinics prevent us from providing essential medical aid,” said Rob Mulder, who heads the MSF mission in southern Sudan. “These incidents are totally unacceptable as they stop us from accessing patients and put our staff at risk,” he said. The clinic serves a population of more than 30,000 people, and was providing treatment to more than 160 malnourished children, Mulder said.
