UN role in Darfur mission limited to funding, technical support- AU
April 7, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — African Union peace and securiy cuncil chairman said that the support of the United nations to Darfur peacekeeping mission would be limited to provid funds and technical support, the official SUNA reported.
Speaking to the press after a meeting with the Sudanese president Omar al-bashir, Alpha Oumar Konare said that the peacekeepers in Darfur would be African with an African command and that the UN’s participation would be limited to the fields of administration, funding, as well as technical and logistical support. He also affirmed the necessity to implement what was agreed upon in this regard so as to guarantee UN support for the AU troops so that peace could be achieved in Darfur.
Konare pointed out that the meeting which would be held in Addis Ababa on Monday would discuss a number of issues amongst the issues would be the number of AU troops, the types of weapons required to be supplied to these troops and that this would be in consultation with the Sudanese government.
He pointed out that these issues were very important and should be agreed upon in the nearest possible time so that the required troops could be deployed in adequate numbers so that the displaced and refugees could be satisfied, as well as the humanitarian agencies working in the region.
Konare called on the international community to offer the necessary support for the AU troops so that they presence in the region could be strengthened.
In the meeting Sudan and the AU agreed on the necessity of improving relations between Sudan and Chad considering that improving relations between the two countries would hugely help in resolving the crisis in Darfur.
Konare also said that the AU would play a major role in the coming period to improve the relations between Chad and Sudan, as well as push the non-signotories to the Darfur agreement to do so that they join the peace process. He also stressed on the importance of holding a Darfur-Darfur conference to help resolve the problem.
For his part the foreign affairs minister, Lam Akol, described the meeting as fruitful and that they was an agreement reached in all the issues that were discussed, especially in the issues concerning Darfur. He expressed his hope that the meeting which is to be held the day after tomorrow in Addis Ababa would be decisive in UN’s financial support to these troops.
(ST)