This archive report was first published on 6 June 2020.
On June 4, 2020, the United Nations Security Council announced a decision to extend the mandate of the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan, Unamid, until December 31, 2020.
Unamid, which was deployed in 2007 to pacify the war in the Western region of Darfur, will cease operations at the end of the year and be replaced by a civilian mission focusing on Sudan's democratic transition.
The decision was made after a virtual meeting of the UN Security Council, which had delayed the decision for four days following resistance from the Sudan military wing of the transitional government.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok had requested a new political mission to cover the whole country after the expiry of Unamid's term, but the request was not successful.
However, the UN Security Council did approve a resolution that extended the mandate of the 6,500-strong Unamid by six months and added that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the chair of the African Union Commission must report by October 31, 2020, on whether Sudan's security forces have the capacity to protect civilians in Darfur.
A follow-on mission known as the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (Unitams) will be deployed in January 2021 to help Sudan in the political transition after the fall of the Omar al-Bashir 30-year rule in April 2019.
