(AKI) - The joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur is stepping up its presence in and around a camp for homeless people, where dozens of people were shot dead last week during clashes with Sudanese security forces.The mission, known as UNAMID, late on Thursday reported that its police will be present at the Kalma camp in South Darfur until a joint force of mission police and military officers can be permanently deployed.
Daily military patrols by UNAMID have also been reinforced.
The moves came after a UNAMID patrol in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, observed an increased Sudanese police presence near Kalma, with more tents being erected on Monday at a location about five kilometres from the camp.
A local tribal leader from the camp also told the mission that Sudanese Government forces were planning another attack on the camp in the near future.
Tensions were mounting among Kalma's residents -- estimated at around 80,000 -- as a result, he said.
UNAMID has said it has evidence that at least 31 people were killed at Kalma on 25 August when Sudanese military and police forces raided the camp to execute a search warrant for illegal weapons and drugs.
The Sudanese forces claim they only returned fire after gunshots were directed at them from behind a human shield of women and children.
UNAMID however issued a statement saying excessive and disproportionate force had been used given that the camp residents carried sticks, knives and spears.
"UNAMID strongly condemns the excessive, disproportionate use of lethal force by the Government of Sudan security forces against civilians, which violated their human rights and resulted in unacceptable casualties," the mission said in a statement.
However, the statement also urged inhabitants of the camp and their leaders to ensure no weapons are present.
Meanwhile, the mission reported that its radio unit this week began a one-month journalism training for 10 local radio journalists in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.
The first in a series of planned courses to be conducted for local journalists in El Fasher and Khartoum through December, the course aims to give the journalists the skills to run a fully-fledged UNAMID radio broadcast operation for Darfur.