The Joint United Nations & African Union Mission in Darfur or UNAMID has formally taken over from the African Union Mission in the Sudan in an official ceremony in El Fasher, Darfur.

The ceremony included lowering of African Union flag. A 'Transfer of Authority' certificate was then signed by the UNAMID Joint Special Representative, Rodolphe Adada, and other relevant officials.

Rodolphe Adada has called for a ceasefire in the region, saying peace is crucial.

UNAMID must be able to work throughout Darfur without let or hindrance, there must be freedom for movement for all, the fighting must stop and the ceasefire must be respected by all parties, now is the time for peace.

The UN and AU flags were, then, hoisted and the military and police personnel changed their head gear to the UN blue berets, signaling the official transfer of authority to UNAMID.

At full strength, the new mission, authorized by the UN Security Council, will be the UN's largest peacekeeping operation, with 20,000 troops and more than 6,000 police and civilian staff.

Late last year, China sent a multi-functional engineering force to Darfur, among the first batches of UN-AU peacekeepers in place.