AU troops likely to stay in Darfur: US

Sept 6, 20006 (KHARTOUM) — The United States appeared convinced that the African Union will keep its forces in Darfur, Sudan, a spokesman said.

“We’re in very close contact with the AU,” spokesman Sean McCormack said.

“They are going to have to make some crucial decisions about their force in Darfur,” he told reporters.

“We are confident that there will not be a vacuum, one way or the other, in Darfur, that there will be an international force presence there,” he said.

McCormack refused to say if the United States had received AU assurance that it would keep its troops in Darfur although Khartoum said it would not accept UN peacekeepers in the western province of Darfur.

“There are a number of different ways to come at this. In terms of the AU, I’m not going to get into the various diplomatic options at this point, but we’re in close touch with them.

“And the AU doesn’t want to see a vacuum there.

“They realize the importance of this mission.”

The Sudanese government refused to allow UN troops to continue the AU’s work in Darfur, but accepted that the AU extend its tour until September 30.

Many analysts and aid workers believe the embattled 7,000 AU soldiers in Darfur are ill equipped and lack the resources to provide adequate security in the region, and have called for the United Nations to take over the mission.

The combined effect of war and famine in Darfur has left up to 300,000 people dead and displaced 2.5 million in three and half years of civil war pitting the Sudanese government and allied militias against ethnic minority rebels.

(ST/AFP)