- The UN’s Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Nigerian diplomat Ibrahim Gambari to become the head of the UN-African Union peacekeeping force in the conflict ridden Darfur region, the UN statement said.
Mr Gambari who is a former Nigerian foreign minister currently serving as UN special envoy to Burma will take office on 1 January 2010.
He has also been serving as Special Adviser on the International Compact with Iraq and Other Political Issues since March 2007, the same year he was named Special Envoy to Myanmar.
Mr Gambari was the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, he was also the Special Adviser on Africa and headed the UN mission in Angola. From 1999 to 2002, he served as Nigeria’s Ambassador to the UN, ccording to UN statement.
UNAMID has been in place across Darfur since the start of last year to try to quell the fighting and humanitarian suffering that has engulfed the region since 2003. At least 300,000 people are estimated to have died from the conflict and another 2.7 million people remain displaced from their homes.
The mission now has a strength of only 19,000 uniformed personnel out of the 26, 000 expected in the war torn region.
Violence began in Darfur in 2003 when black African rebel groups took up arms against the Sudanese government in Khartoum, complaining of discrimination and neglect.
Pro-government Arab militias then started a campaign of violence, targeting the black African population.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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