UN Urges Sudan to Better Protect Aid Workers, Peacekeepers

A United Nations Security Council delegation including Susan Rice (second from right), permanent representative of the U.S. to the U.N., and Mark Lyall Grant (second from left), permanent representative of the U.K. to the U.N., meets with representatives from the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur. The envoys to the U.N. urge Sudan to increase protection of aid workers and peacekeepers in Darfur. Photo by: Olivier Chassot / United Nations

Sudanese authorities should work to better ensure the safety of peacekeepers and aid workers in Darfur, several ambassadors to the United Nations said a day after a U.N. worker was reportedly abducted in the conflict-torn region.

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A number of envoys to the U.N. Security Council visited Sudan and met with North Darfur Governor Othman Mohammed Yusef Kibir Oct. 8. They expressed concern over the renewed tension between government troops and minority regions in western Darfur, Agence France-Presse reports.

“One of the reasons for the council being in Darfur was to highlight its underlying concern about security, including for aid workers and peacekeepers,” said Lyall Grant, the U.K. ambassador to the U.N., after the meeting with Kibir.