The joint United Nations-African Union mission in the Darfur region of Sudan will officially end operations today when the Sudanese Government will take over responsibility for the protection of civilians in the area.

In a statement, the joint mission confirmed the decision to close the mission, which followed the unanimous adoption of a Security Council resolution, and progress made by the transitional Government of Sudan in addressing the conflict in Darfur.

The process should result in the withdrawal of all the joint mission uniformed including 1,075 Pakistani troops from Sudan by June 2021.