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Objective: To study the frequency and type of non-batt le injury and surgical diseases amongst multi-national peacekeepers at tertiary care hospital in United Nations mission in Darfur, Sudan. Study design: Descriptive case-series study. Place and duration of study: Department of General Surgery of United Nations peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) level III Hospital at Darfur, Sudan from January 2019 to December 2019. Material and Methods: All personnel of UNAMID Sudan, of either gender who reported in Outdoor Patient Department with presentation suggesting a non-batt le injury or surgical disease and managed either conservatively or operated upon were included in this study. While cases that were shifted or referred to other departments were excluded. Results: A total of 1516 patients were included in this study. The mean age was 35.35 years and standard deviation was 7.09. Out of those, 93.3% (n= 1414) were males and 6.7% (n=101) were females. The majority of patients had musculo-skeletal diseases 311(20.5%) followed by non specific abdominal pain 276 (18.2%), genito-urinary tract diseases 258 (17%), Road traffic accident and Trauma 117 (7.7%), Acute appendicitis 93 (6.1%), Perianal diseases 85(5.6%), Hernias 70 (4.6%), Superficial skin lumps 67(4.4%), Viscous Perforation 2 (0.1%), Intestinal obstruction 1 (0.1%), others 236 (15.6%), there was no fatal outcome, giving a mortality rate of 0%. Conclusion: The commonest non-batt le injury and surgical disease in this study was musculo skeletal diseases followed by non-specific abdominal pain, genito-urinary tract diseases, road traffic accident & trauma, acute appendicitis, perianal diseases, hernias and superficial skin lumps, UN level III hospital is the biggest field military medical set up of UNAMID Sudan, which is catering needs of United Nations peacekeepers from 50 countries by providing emergency surgical care to holistic management of allied surgical specialties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fighting between rival communities in the disputed region of Abyei, claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan, has resulted in the deaths of 54 people, including two UN peacekeepers. The clashes broke out a few days prior and have been condemned by the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). The violence has been linked to a long-standing conflict between the Ngok and Twic communities. The international Troika, consisting of Britain, Norway, and the United States, expressed deep concern over the escalation of violence in the region. [Extracted from the article]

A recent series of attacks in the disputed region of Abyei, located on the border between Sudan and South Sudan, has resulted in the deaths of 32 people, including a UN peacekeeper. The attacks were carried out by armed militias and soldiers wearing uniforms of South Sudan's national army. Abyei, known for its oil resources, is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan. The UN has expressed concern that the fighting between rival forces in Sudan is drawing closer to the border with South Sudan and Abyei, potentially destabilizing the region. South Sudan has called for an urgent investigation into the attacks. The UN Security Council has voted to extend the UN peacekeeping mission in Abyei. [Extracted from the article]

Protecting civilians from conflict and atrocities has become a major focus of governments, the UN, and activists. Yet peace operations—the main policy instrument for directly shielding civilians from violence—vary widely in how well they are designed to do so. One much-maligned problem is a gap between a force's ambitions to protect civilians and its physical resources for doing so. Missions plagued by these ambitions–resources gaps gesture toward protecting civilians but are not designed to do so effectively. They can also worsen civilian suffering. This article explores the politics behind these gaps, focusing on the role of powerful states—especially major Western democracies—in creating and facilitating them. It argues that ambitions–resources gaps represent a form of organized hypocrisy that helps political leaders balance competing normative and material pressures to protect civilians while limiting costs and risks. Case studies of France's Operation Turquoise in Rwanda and US support for the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) in Darfur support the argument. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the frequency and pattern of skin diseases among uniformed personnel at a United Nations peace-keeping mission Level III hospital at Darfur, Sudan. Design: A descriptive study Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at dermatology outpatient department of United Nations peace keeping mission (UNAMID) level III Hospital at Darfur, Sudan from Jan 2010-Jan 2011. Patients and Methods: All soldiers/policemen of either gender reporting to dermatology department of the hospital for the first time during the study period were registered after informed consent. A specially designed proforma was filled for each patient separately. In addition to date of reporting, demographic profile and disease information were noted. The data was managed and analyzed using SPSS-14. Results: There were a total of 438 uniformed personnel of the age ranging from 20-52 years (mean of 34.30 ± 6.43). Eczema in various forms was the most common disease (21.9%), followed by fungal infections (10%) and melasma (08.9%). One hundred and seventy five (40.0%) patients had the disease 02 months to >30 years before their deployment, whereas 263 (60%) developed the disease 03 days to 01 year after deployment. Conclusion: Eczema, fungal infections and melasma were the commonest skin problems among uniformed personnel. Forty percent of these had dermatological problems before deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 500 UN peacekeepers from Ethiopia's war-torn B Tigray b region have refused to return home, citing fears for their safety and highlighting deepening ethnic fissures as they request political asylum in Sudan. They are being protected by the UN in a secure location", a UN peacekeeping spokesperson said in New York. A total of 528 Ethiopian soldiers from Tigray have requested asylum in Sudan, according to Major Gebre Kidane, a Tigrayan ex-peacekeeper. [Extracted from the article]

The disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programme as implemented in South Sudan provides a perfect entry point to study the interaction between an international intervention and local contexts. The article describes and analyses the DDR programme in South Sudan as a set of practices that are at the core of international peacekeeping and yet are highly challenged by the specificities of local contexts. Consequently, programme results are far from what the international organizations involved expected from the outset, and the case is a vivid example of a lack of context-based approaches to peacebuilding. The article is based on fieldwork conducted among practitioners, project implementers and ex-combatants in South Sudan in 2012. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The author offers opinions on participation by Canada in international peacebuilding efforts from 1992-2011. The involvement of Canada's armed forces in the United Nations (UN) intervention in Somalia in 1992-1993, as part of UN peacekeeping forces in Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2000-2001, in Sudan, South Sudan and the Darfur region of Sudan from 1998-2012 are cited to support the contention that the experiences have resulted in Canada's government and public opinion in that country adopting more limited goals for the role of foreign intervention in peacebuilding.

The nature of peacekeeping has changed since the second half of the 1990s. Specifically, the manner in which peacekeeping operations are comprised, driven and funded has become embedded in burden-sharing between the United Nations and regional organisations, such as the African Union. Accordingly, hybridisation in African peacekeeeping has assumed great significance. In this respect the establishment of UNAMID as a joint United Nations-African Union peacekeepimg operation in Darfur (Sudan) is one of the most notable afforts in the field of security co-operation and hybrid arrangements involving both regional and global peacekeeping instruments and resources. This said, questions arise wheter these partnerships introduce a new and more promising future for peacekeeping on the African continent, and whether they will provide a more sustainable basis for African peacekeeping endeavours. This article explores the establishment of UNAMID as a hybrid operation to stabilise the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan. As such UNAMID is assessed against the background of the emergence of new co-operative security arrangements in the field of African peacekeeping, and the need to work towards sustainable partnerships between the United Nations and the African Union within the paradigm of burden-sharing and hybridisation.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a consensus that the UN needs a stronger strategic culture, but its strategic circumstances militate against this. Since 2006, the UN has struggled with a series of crises that have overshadowed efforts to develop the idea of integration. It also faces a systemic crisis, in that its framework for deploying missions has been undermined in Darfur. In addition it faces a paradigmatic crisis, as many of its assumptions about transitions from war to peace have been shown wanting in cases from Afghanistan to the Democratic Republic of Congo. At a time of increasing rivalry among major powers, not least in the Security Council, the UN may not develop comprehensive strategies aimed at transforming post-conflict societies. But it may be able to achieve more limited but politically credible goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an update on current United Nations peacekeeping missions as of June 2006. In Timor-Leste, the first presidential and parliamentary elections are on schedule for 2007. Democratic institutions and civil organizations made slow but steady progress. However, in the Sudan, the peace process was strained as competing factions redeployed military forces. The U.N. forces in area have reached full strength and number just under 10,000 personnel and disarmament was proceeding, albeit not without reluctance from both sides.

The article reports on the second ceasefire agreement between the government of South Sudan and rebel group represented by Riek Machar. It states that the deal blocked the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in the country. Also discussed are the rising rate of displaced people in the country, a documented report on gender-based violence such as rape and sexual violence, and the increasing rate of starvation in the country.

The article offers information on the activities of the Security Council of the United Nations (UN) in 2008. The Security Council took several initiatives including deployment of peacekeeping arrangements in Sudan and peace negotiations for conflict situations in the Middle East. The Council convened 217 public meetings, 48 presidential statements and adopted 64 resolutions. Emphasis was given on the deployment of the joint African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) in order to provide aid in the strife-torn western region of Sudan. The Security Council also adopted a peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

The article offers news briefs related to the stoppage of the United Nation (UN) from entering Darfur, Sudan. It is reported that the diplomatic stand-off between the UN and Sudan have intensified when the Sudanese government ordered the UN special envoy to leave the country. In addition, the UN humanitarian officials called on Sudan's trading partners in Asia and Arab countries to put pressure on Khartoum to accept an international force for Darfur.

The article discusses aspects of exit strategy for the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). It states that UNAMID was formed to keep law and order in check in Sudan. It mentions that Sudan has asked UNAMID to leave due to their investigations of alleged mass rape by Sudanese soldiers in Darfur. Also, it gives information on ethnic clashes in Darfur and the need for humanitarian assistance in the region.

News briefs are presented about the U.S. organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) intervening in the matter of the rape of hundreds of women in the village of Darfur, Sudan, by Sudanese military officials. Other news from across Sudan including the incident in Southern Kordofan where a plane belonging to a UN Peacekeeper was shot at, and the prosecution of the members of National Consensus Force (NCF), the opposition party in Sudan, for inciting war against the state, are covered.

The article discusses that the Sudanese government has ordered two senior United Nations (UN) officials to leave Sudan. Other topics discussed include UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon criticizing the move to expel the officials, the worsening relations between Sudan and the UNAMID peacekeeping mission in Darfur region of Sudan, and and Sudan's Defence Minister Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein announcing a new army offensive to defeat rebels after failure of peace talks.

The article reports on the deterioration of the security situation in Darfur, Sudan in 2013. The major incidence of violence in the region is attributable to inter-ethnic and inter-tribal clashes. It notes that these incidents prompted the call for the strengthening of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

The article offers information on the conflict taking place in Darfur, Sudan. Alain LeRoy, United Nation's (UN) Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations has reported to the Security Council regarding the violence in Darfur since fighting erupted in 2003 among government forces, militiamen and rebels. A study says that children and adults were being used as slaves in the Darfur region. The UN also said that about 6000 child soldiers were recruited by the rebels and government forces.

The article reports that a convoy of United Nations (UN) trucks was attacked by Sudanese armed forces. The UN Security Council condemned the attack. The UN convoy is part of the UNAMID, the joint UN and African Union peacekeeping force deployed in Sudan. The Sudanese military has accepted responsibility for the attack, claiming it was notified of the convoy.

The article reports that the government of Sudan demanded in early September 2006 that the African Union (AU) remove its peacekeepers from Darfur. The Sudanese government also launched a new military offensive against rebel forces to restore stability in Darfur and rejected proposals to replace the AU peacekeepers with a peacekeeping force from the United Nations.

Focuses on the atrocities committed against the people of Darfur, Sudan, and discusses the need for an international response of intervention and humanitarianism in Darfur. Reference to the epilogue of "Deliver us from evil," by William Shawcross, on the failures of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces; Report that the people of Darfur have been killed, raped, displaced, and tortured by the state-sponsored Janjaweed militia; Report that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan appointed a commission of lawyers to investigate whether genocide had occurred in Darfur; Statement that the commission found that the crimes committed in Darfur may amount to crimes against humanity; Reference to the book "Leave none to tell the story," by Alison Des Forges, regarding the 1994 Rwanda genocide; Lack of humanitarian aid provided from donor countries to the people of Darfur.

The author offers commentary on a report from Save the Children UK regarding the sexual exploitation of children by United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces and non-governmental organization (NGO) workers in Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti, and Sudan. UN Director-General Ban Ki-Moon's comments on the UN's zero-tolerance policy against sexual exploitation and abuse are presented. The Save the Children report recommends the instituting of a local complaints mechanism for reporting sexual abuse.

The article reports that Jean-Marie Guehenno, the United Nations' (UN) undersecretary for peacekeeping, is calling for increased support for UNAMID, the joint UN and African Union peacekeeping force deployed in Darfur, Sudan. Guehenno said that obstructionism by the Sudanese government, the unwillingness of countries to supply transportation equipment and continuing outbreaks of violence are threatening the UNAMID mission in Darfur.

The article reports that UNAMID, a joint United Nations-African Union (UN-AU) force, will take over peacekeeping operations in the Sudanese province of Darfur on December 31, 2007. The peacekeeping operation is mandated to aid and protect the civilians displaced in the four-year conflict between the government and its militia allies and Darfur rebel groups. UNAMID is being hampered by the failure of UN member states to provide the hardware to make the peacekeeping effort effective.