SLM rebels hail AU decision to hand Darfur to UN

Mar 11, 2006 (CAIRO) — A rebel group in Sudan’s war-ravaged western region of Darfur has hailed the decision by the African Union to hand over its cash-strapped peacekeeping mission to the United Nations.

“The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) welcomes the decision to transfer the AU mission to the UN after the six-month extension expires,” the group said in a statement issued Saturday.

AU foreign ministers met in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Friday and agreed in principle to transfer the union’s mission in Darfur to the United Nations. They also extended the current mission in the region for six months.

“The movement calls on the AU to shoulder its responsibilities within this period in full, seriously and transparently,” the SLM said. “The movement won’t allow any more deaths in Darfur,” it added.

“In return, (the movement) affirms its readiness to cooperate with the AU forces until the mandate expires,” the SLM statement promised.

The group further urged AU observers in the region to continue to monitor and report Sudanese troop movements in Darfur, including the air force, in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.

They also called on the AU force to facilitate the access of international teams investigating war crimes in the region.

The AU reached the decision despite spirited opposition from Khartoum, which argued that the transfer would risk worsening the situation in Darfur.

The 7,800-strong force, which was deployed in 2004, has been hampered by poor funding and inadequate resources, and has been unable to contain the escalating bloodshed in Darfur, a region in western Sudan that is the size of France.

Khartoum’s soldiers, militias backed by government troops and rebels are embroiled in a conflict which since its outbreak in 2003 has killed an estimated 300,000 people and displaced two million more.

(ST/AFP)