The commander of the UN-African Union peacekeeping force in the Sudanese region of Darfur, Rodolpho Adada, says the mission has been a success.

He says there are no longer any major bloodbaths and the intensity of the conflict has diminished to one of very low engagements.
 

Mr Adada criticised media coverage of the Darfur mission, which he says gives the impression that the peacekeeping force has been unable to protect the inhabitants of the region. Mr Adada does not deny that the region is plagued by instability; however, he says that ordinary bandits are the major cause of the troubles.
 

In April, there was an outcry when he told the UN Security Council that Darfur had become a low intensity conflict. He was accused of bias in favour of the government in Khartoum.