Secretary-General Strongly Condemns Looting, Attacks against United Nations Facilities in Darfur, Calls on Sudan’s Government to Restore Order

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

The Secretary-General strongly condemns the continued looting and attacks against United Nations facilities, equipment and supplies gifted to the Sudanese authorities for civilian use in El Fasher, Darfur.

In the evening of 28 December 2021, a World Food Programme (WFP) facility was also attacked.  Over 1,900 metric tons of food commodities that were meant to feed 730,000 vulnerable people for a month were looted.

The Secretary-General regrets the loss of aid and other equipment and supplies intended for the benefit of Darfur communities.  He calls upon the Government of Sudan to restore order, and to ensure that the former property and assets of the former United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur, UNAMID, are employed strictly for civilian use, in conformity with the Framework Agreement the Government signed with the United Nations in March this year.  The Secretary-General further calls upon the Sudanese authorities to facilitate the safe working environment and passage for remaining United Nations operations in El Fasher.  He also extends his gratitude to the United Nations civilian and uniformed personnel who remained on the ground under these challenging circumstances.