Weather, fuel shortage force suspension of AU Darfur troop deployment

Sep 2, 2005 (Addis Ababa) — The African Union (AU) said Friday it has temporarily suspended troop deployments to its mission in Sudan’s war-torn western Darfur region due to a lack of jet fuel and heavy rains.

In a statement released at the pan-African body’s headquarters here, the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS) said the twin hitches made it impossible to continue sending troops to its expanded operation in Darfur.

“Taking into account the logistical problems which appear on the ground in Sudan, the AU has decided to observe a ‘logistic pause’ in the deployment of its military battalions and civilian police contingents to Darfur,” it said.

It blamed the suspension — which it said would last only until September 19 — on the closure of the only oil refinery in Khartoum which had caused a severe shortage of A1 jet fuel in Sudan and rains that are now pounding Darfur, flooing AMIS facilities and making roads impassable.

“The direct consequence of this situation is that the AU mission is not in position to airlift its contingents in the various sectors inside Darfur,” it said.

The African Union, which currently has some 6,000 troops in the region monitoring a shaky April 2004 ceasefire, intended to deploy an additional 2000 soldiers by the end of September.

The suspension announced on Friday means the expansion of the mission will not be complete until October 22, the statement said.

Fighting in Darfur broke out in February 2003 when an uprising representing the mainly black population of the region led Khartoum to unleash Arab militias known as Janjaweed, which have been accused of torture, rape and intimidation.

Some 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict which has displaced more than two million others.

AFP/ST.