UNAMID: no evidence of chemical weapons use in Jebel Marra

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry on Sunday quoted head of the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) Martin Uhomoibhi as saying that his mission did not receive any piece of information that chemical weapons have been used in Darfur, the local newspaper reported. 

Late on September, Amnesty International reported that over 200 people had been killed in Darfur Jebel Marra area by banned chemical weapons since January 2016. But the Sudanese government denied the claims.

The Sudanese government dismissed Amnesty's allegations as "fabricated and unfounded accusations", pointing that it aims to obstruct "the pioneering efforts" to achieve peace and stability and to promote reconciliation in Sudan.

A statement by the Sudanese Foreign Ministry reported that Uhomoibhi told Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour that in spite of the almost 20,000 UNAMID personnel on the ground in Darfur, none of them has seen any Darfuri with the impact of the use of chemical weapons as described by Amnesty International's report.

UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said the United Nations had no evidence on the use of chemical weapons by the Sudanese government in Darfur, and called on Khartoum to cooperate with future investigations by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Source: MENA