Secretary-General Condemns Looting, Reported Violence around El Fasher Base of Former African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Secretary-General condemns the looting and reported violence occurring around the former United Nations logistics base in El Fasher since 24 December in a part of the former base for which custody was handed over to local Sudanese authorities on 21 December.  The safety of personnel from the former United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur, UNAMID, that remain at the base is of paramount concern at present.  Security of this section of the base that has been overrun and looted was to be maintained by Sudanese authorities once it was handed over.

This latest incident of looting and destruction is a tragedy for Sudanese communities that stood to benefit from substantial amounts of equipment and supplies gifted by the United Nations assets for civilian use.  We remain hopeful that Sudanese authorities can put an end to the looting in El Fasher, and that remaining infrastructure, equipment and assets can be administered for civilian use as intended.