KHARTOUM, Nov. 20 -- Joint Special Representative of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) Jeremiah Mamabolo on Wednesday urged the Sudanese political forces, particularly the armed groups who have not yet joined the peace process, to come to negotiating table.
"I call on all the Sudanese political forces, particularly the armed movements who have not yet joined the peace process, to seize this historic moment and come to the negotiating table," said Mamabolo at a press conference in Khartoum Wednesday.
The UNAMID chief further urged both the Sudanese government and the armed groups to work with the UN and other international actors to support humanitarian access to all remote areas, in Darfur in particular, to ensure the timely and effective delivery of humanitarian aid.
"It is extremely important that as the peace process moves forward, we continue providing basic humanitarian support to the people," he noted.
He voiced the mission's support for the ongoing peace process between the Sudanese government and the Darfur armed movements.
In early 2008, the UNAMID was deployed in Darfur, a region which has been witnessing military clashes between the Sudanese army and the rebels since 2003.
The UNAMID is considered as the second biggest peacekeeping mission in the world, after the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, in June 2017, the UN Security Council (UNSC) decided to draw down the mission's military component by 40 percent and the police component by 33 percent.
On Oct. 31, 2019, the UNSC adopted Resolution 2495, extending the UNAMID mandate until Oct. 31, 2020.
The resolution maintains the current troops ceiling of 4,050 military and 2,500 police personnel until March 2020.