AU encourages member states to send more troops to Darfur
August 2, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — African Union (AU) members on Thursday pledged to put more troops into the UN-approved peacekeeping mission in Darfur, where fresh tribal violence left dozens dead.
Ambassadors to the pan-African body gathered at its Addis Ababa headquarters to raise troops for the force, which faces the daunting task of stabilising the war-torn Sudanese region.
“The response we got from our members has been encouraging. Many have pledged to send troops; Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Mauritania and many others have made pledges,” Said Djinnit, the AU commissioner for peace and security, told reporters.
The gathering came amid tribal violence in southern Darfur that has claimed at least 140 lives.
In the latest outbreak, a tribal leader said Thursday that 65 people were killed and 25 wounded in a second-day of clashes between the Rzigat Aballa tribe and the Torjam.
The 7,000 AU peacekeepers in Darfur now will be replaced by a so-called “hybrid” force of AU and UN troops, following the UN Security Council’s unanimous approval of the deployment on Tuesday.
The new force will be the world’s largest peacekeeping operation, with some 26,000 troops and police mandated to protect civilians in Darfur and support a moribund peace agreement signed last year.
The UN resolution authorising the deployment says the new mission “should have a predominantly African character and the troops should, as far as possible, be sourced from African countries.”
Yet the first countries to express interest in sending troops were the likes of Sweden, Norway, France and the Netherlands.
The European Union, which has already provided more than 550 million dollars to the AU force, said it would consider a military contribution.
Rwanda and Nigeria make up the bulk of the current African contingent and both countries vowed several months ago to send more men to the troubled region where more fighting between rival tribes was reported Thursday.
On Wednesday, Nigeria offered to send a fourth battalion of around 700 men to Darfur.
Malawi, which already has a battalion in the current force, said it would consider sending more.
Sudanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mutref Sadiq said the UN resolution provided a “good base” for the peacekeeping operation, while stressing that the leadership should be “generated from Africa.”
The under-funded AU force has struggled to pay soldiers’ salaries and the African Union is hoping the UN presence in the new mission will offer attractive guarantees for new contributions.
While making no direct pledge to Darfur, other countries have dispatched soldiers to the African Standby Force, which is expected to eventually number 25,000 troops.
The deployment in Darfur of part of this new force is to be discussed during the Southern African Development Community summit starting in Lusaka on August 16.
At least 200,000 people have been killed and more than two million displaced by the combined effect of war and famine, since Darfur rebels complaining of marginalisation rose up against Khartoum in February 2003.
(AFP)