NATO ministers endorse Darfur mission

By ROBERT WIELAARD

BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 9, 2005 (AP) — NATO defense ministers finalized plans Thursday for the alliance’s first African mission, agreeing to fly an extra 5,000 African peacekeepers to Sudan’s troubled Darfur region.

NATO defense ministers gave the green light on June 8 to an operation to airlift extra African troops to Sudan’s troubled Darfur region, the alliance’s first mission on the continent. (Reuters) .

They also pledged to support for Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections in September by deploying 3,000 additional troops there for extra security before and during polling.

While the allies will fly African troops into Darfur — hopefully before the rains come in July — they stressed the AU remained in charge of the peacekeeping operation. It now has 2,700 or so peacekeepers in Darfur, site of one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes.

“The situation in that region is appalling, and we must do all that is in our power — in coordination with other organizations, starting with the EU — to assist the African Union in its efforts,” NATO Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer told the ministers.

The Darfur crisis erupted in 2003 when rebels took up arms because of what they considered years of state neglect and discrimination against Sudanese of African origin. The government in Khartoum is accused of responding with a scorched-earth counterinsurgency campaign using Arab militia as its proxies. At least 180,000 people have died — many from hunger and disease — and about 2 million others have fled their homes to escape the conflict.

An EU airlift operation is expected to get the green light next week.

Washington had hoped for a single NATO-commanded airlift, but France insisted on an EU role. NATO officials said there will be no duplication and German Defense Minister Peter Struck told reporters, “The main thing is that assistance is extended.”

The United States plans to fly Rwandan troops to Darfur as part of the alliance airlift. France will fly Senegalese troops under the EU flag. South Africa and Nigeria have also asked for help to fly troops to western Sudan.

Officials said NATO will only fly peacekeepers to Darfur and provide some support staff to help the AU run a headquarters. Only Canada has expressed a readiness to provide helicopters to fly peacekeepers within Darfur.

On Afghanistan, De Hoop Scheffer told the ministers “significant progress has been achieved” in making the country a safer place, but citing recent outbreaks of violence, he cautioned: “We must avoid excessive optimism.”

By September, NATO planners hope to deploy an extra 3,000 soldiers for the 8,300-strong International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

Hundreds of extra troops would come from Romania, Spain and the Netherlands. German Defense Minister Peter Struck said Germany was asking its parliament to add to the 2,250 German soldiers already there.

Afghanistan’s Sept. 18 parliamentary elections are seen as a key step toward the development of democratic institutions.

The extra NATO troops must provide security for thousands of candidates and hundreds of polling stations. NATO took similar steps to boost its peacekeeping force during the presidential elections last October.

NATO troops now provide for security in Kabul and across northern and western provinces. It plans to take over from the United States in the more volatile southern sector in 2006 with Britain, Canada, Romania and the Netherlands providing most of the manpower.