Annan asks for more than 10,000 peacekeepers for Sudan

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 1, 2005 (AFP) – UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Tuesday called for deploying 10,130 peacekeepers to Sudan in the wake of a peace accord reached between the government and rebels operating in the south of the country.

In a report to the Security Council, Annan said the force will help Khartoum implement the agreement signed with rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in Nairobi, Kenya, on January 9.

The contingent will include 750 military observers, 160 officers, small peacekeeping units totaling 5,070 personnel, a protection force of 4,150 soldiers. An additional force of 755 police officers is proposed.

The task of the troops will be to supervise the implementation of the accord, ratified Tuesday to bring to an end Sudan’s 21-year war that claimed at least 1.5 million lives.

Ratification opens the way for a committee to form to draft a provisional constitution for a six-year interim period leading up to a referendum on independence for the south.