Sudan's Bashir wants 'clear' plan for UNAMID to leave Darfur

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Monday 01 Dec 2014 - 12:40 Makkah mean time-9-2-1436 Khartoum (IINA) – Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir said the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has become a security burden, calling on the peacekeepers to leave the country. “We want a clear plan for the exit of UNAMID from Darfur,” Bashir said in a press conference held Sunday in Khartoum, adding: “We have directed the foreign ministry to work with the United Nations to end the presence of UNAMID in Darfur.” Ties between Khartoum and UNAMID have been deteriorated since the mission tried to investigate a report from a local news website accusing Sudanese army of mass rape in the village of Tabit in North Darfur on October 31. The Sudanese authorities denied the allegations and accused the mission of echoing media report before verifying it. Bashir said that the report about the alleged mass rape in Tabit was released to the media "to put pressure on the government", after “the army managed to defeat the rebel movements which now have limited presence in some pockets”. The hybrid peacekeeping mission has confirmed receipt of a note verbal from the Sudanese government stating the need for an exit strategy. AB/IINA