AU says Darfur peacekeeping force under its command

By: Wasil Ali

August 12, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — The African Union (AU) chairman warned any party of trying to take the command of the UN-AU hybrid force away from the AU.

AU chairman Alpha Oumar Konare told reporters following a meeting with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum that the AU “will not allow the force [hybrid force] to be under any other command”.

Konare also said that there are enough pledges from African countries for the hybrid force. However he did not elaborate.

The U.N. Security Council on July 31 authorized a peacekeeping force for Darfur made up of 20,000 peacekeepers and 6,000 civilian police.

The strong and surprising statements by the AU chief are contrary to those made by U.S. envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios that Khartoum would have to accept non-African troops because the continent is unable to supply enough trained soldiers.

Also, the UN resolution on Darfur made it clear that “there will be unity of command and control,” meaning a single chain of command and that “command and control structures and backstopping will be provided by the United Nations”.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno indicated that the Sudanese government had accepted that the U.N. would have overall operational control of the force, while day-to-day operations would be in the hands of its African commanders.

Analysts suggested that Konare’s statements are aimed at pacifying fears by Khartoum regarding the force. The Sudanese government adamantly rejected UN command and non-African troops in Darfur.

Konare also said that an international summit on Darfur will be held in New York next month which will be a “continuation of the Addis Ababa meeting last November”.

However Konare stressed that the New York meeting “will not be a continuation of the Paris conference”.

The AU chief was referring to the conference hosted by France in June, which was boycotted by Sudan and the African Union.

The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when an ethnic minority rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, which then was accused of enlisting the Janjaweed militia group to help crush the rebellion.

(ST)