U.S. condemns violence in Darfur, calls for UNAMID to enact mandate "more aggressively"

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power delivered a statement Wednesday condemning the Sudanese government's armed attacks against civilians in Darfur, and urging peacekeepers to act "more aggressively."

The government-supported Rapid Support Forces have launched attacks against civilians in South Darfur. Meanwhile, in North Darfur, Sudan Armed Forces have clashed with a Sudanese Liberation Army faction. The fighting has displaced nearly 120,000 people since January.

Power remarked that "Despite the presence of one of the largest peacekeeping operations in the world, civilians in Darfur continue to be targeted, terrorized, displaced, and killed."

In order to address the insecurity, Power directed the Sudanese government "to stop obstructing the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)," and for the UN mission "to carry out its mandate more aggressively."

[State Department]