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No problem with mixed UN-AU force in Darfur – adviser

Nov 17, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — A top adviser to Sudan’s president said Thursday there was no problem with including U.N. troops with African soldiers in a mixed Darfur peacekeeping force, but that the levels of each side still had to be worked out in a key deal aimed at ending violence in the war-torn region.

An_African_Union_soldier.jpgThe comments by Mahzoub al-Khalifa contradicted earlier comments by Sudan’s foreign minister, Lam Akol, who insisted the U.N. could only provide technical support to the African Union force.

But al-Khalifa is the top Sudanese official on Darfur and is considered close to President Omar al-Bashir, who is to make the final decision on the agreement.

For months, Sudan has strongly opposed allowing U.N. troops into Darfur. But its representatives agreed in principle to the mixed peacekeeping force during talks Thursday in Addis Ababa. The delegation said they had to consult with the leadership in Khartoum before giving final approval.

The United States and the United Nations have pressed hard for a beefed-up U.N. force to deploy in Darfur, where some 7,000 African Union peacekeepers have been unable to stop bloodshed that has increased this year despite a peace agreement signed by Khartoum and one Darfur rebel group. The 3-year-old conflct has killed at least 250,000 people and has threatened wider instability in Central Africa.

“The concept of a mixed AU-U.N. force for Darfur is not a problem, as long as it remains clear that the leadership of the force, and its largest component, remain African,” al-Khalifa told the Associated Press.

“We can discuss the exact numbers and the command structure later, according to the needs in the field,” he said, responding to a UN suggestion for 17,000 peacekepers to join the AU force.

The mixed signals from Khartoum appeared to be aimed at saving face before the Sudanese public over what was a significant reversal by the government. For months, al-Bashir has stoked public opposition to U.N. peacekeepers, calling them colonialists and saying he would go fight them himself if they deployed.

Foreign Minister Lam Akol went on state radio and downplayed the significance, insisting Khartoum’s stance had remained consistent. “There should be no talk about a mixed force,” he said. “What we are discussing and what is agreed upon, is an African Union force assisted by the United Nations.”

“The force will be under the command and control of the African Union, which may accept assistance, technical assistance, from the United Nations,” he told Radio Omdurman.

Al-Khalifa’s comments suggested Khartoum would allow a U.N. troop presence, but that negotiations over the troop levels and who would hold command over the peacekeepers could be difficult.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced Thursday night that the multilateral agreement — reached in a gathering of African, Arab, European and U.N. leaders in the Ethiopian capital — could provide for as many as 17,000 soldiers and 3,000 police officers.

“The next step is for the U.N. and AU to call a meeting of the non-signatories (of the Darfur Peace Agreement) … and the government of Sudan. It should take place in the next couple of weeks to resolve outstanding issues by the end of the year,” Annan said.

Enlarging the existing African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur will take place in three phases over an unspecified period of time, Annan told journalists.

An African Union Peace and Security Council meeting will be held in the Republic of Congo on Nov. 24 during which Sudan is expected to present its final views on what was agreed Thursday in Ethiopia, Annan said.

The senior British government representative at the meeting, International Development Secretary Hilary Benn, called on the Sudanese government to “accept the clear view of all the others present.”

Benn said the joint U.N.-AU focus on Sudan was “the best opportunity we have to bring this crisis to an end. In the meantime, we need an effective cease-fire, with all the parties committing to stop the fighting.”

The U.N. Security Council voted in August to replace the African Union’s 7,000 troops, an underpowered force, with 20,000 U.N. peacekeepers. Annan has hoped to stop the bloodshed in Darfur before he leaves office Jan. 1.

Darfur’s violence is blamed for fueling unrest across the broad region where Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic meet. The instability in Darfur has provided room for Chadian and Central African Republic rebels to maneuver in their campaigns against their own governments and created tensions among the three governments.

Chad and Sudan have exchanged accustions each is supporting the other’s rebels. Chad went a step further Thursday, accusing Sudan of helping Central African Republic rebels and saying it would send troops to help the government there.

In addition, in a region where tribes and ethnic hatreds straddle borders, clashes mirroring Darfur’s Arab vs. African violence have erupted in Chad, killing scores, according to the Chadian government and the U.N. refugee agency.

In Darfur, the conflict has forced some 2.5 million people from their homes. In recent days, pro-government militia known as janjaweed have stepped up attacks on villages in Darfur, killing dozens of people, international observers said Wednesday.

After years of low-level clashes over water and land in the vast, arid Darfur region, rebels from ethnic African tribes took up arms against Sudan’s Arab-dominated government in 2003.

Khartoum is accused of unleashing the janjaweed, who are blamed for many of the atrocities in a conflict that has claimed 200,000 lives and forced 2.5 million from their homes.

The Sudanese army has denied any connection to janjaweed attacks, saying the claims were politically motivated.

(AP)

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