AU force will get tough to keep peace in Darfur

Jan 21, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The African Union will tell its troops to take tougher action to keep the peace in Sudan’s violent Darfur region, including taking pre-emptive steps against armed groups, an AU official said on Saturday.

Said Djinnit, the head of peace and security in the AU, told Reuters there was no immediate need to add more troops to the roughly 7,000 monitoring a tentative truce in Darfur.

But he said commanders on the ground would be instructed to adopt “a very robust interpretation” of the rules of engagement.

“They should look at the command structure so the commanders do have a very strong interpretation of the rules of engagement, so that they should be able to fight, including … pre-emptive action,” Djinnit said.

AU troops have been attacked many times in Darfur and at least seven soldiers have been killed in the past few months as renegade rebel groups demanding a seat at AU-mediated peace talks have targeted the force. AU troops have so far restricted their response to defensive measures.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said AU troops had to be more aggressive in the way they policed the ceasefire, and that rules of engagement should be clarified to allow them to use “deadly force” to protect civilians and humanitarian work.

Aid groups supporting 2 million Darfuris driven from their homes to camps during almost three years of violence also want more AU troops and a widening of their mandate, which now covers monitoring the truce with limited powers to protect civilians.

For example, aid groups would like the AU police contingent to have powers to arrest those involved in criminal activity.

Djinnit said he understood these concerns but that the AU needed to supply more equipment to existing troops first. He said the AU was open to strengthening the mandate but did not give details.

“We do not think the situation in Darfur should be linked directly to the increase in troops … because that will put you in a situation which may be difficult to sustain and manage,” he said. “If the situation evolves there will be need for reviewing the mandate and its strength.”

The AU, which relies on donor nations to fund its mission, says it only has enough money to maintain troops until March, after which it will decide whether to hand over control of the mission to the United Nations, a move Sudan has opposed.

Tens of thousands have been killed in the Darfur revolt as militias burned, looted and killed in mostly non-Arab villages, prompting U.S. accusations of genocide against Khartoum.

Sudan denies the charge, but the International Criminal Court is investigating alleged war crimes there.

(Reuters)