Germany considers extension of Sudan mission
April 7, 2006 (BERLIN) –The German government considers the projected six-month extension of the Bundeswehr (German army) mission in Sudan as imperative, the German DDP news agency reported.
Foreign Office State Secretary Gernot Erler (Social Democratic Party) reminded the Bundestag (Federal parliament) on Friday that the civil war in the African country had already claimed the lives of 2 million people and displaced 4 million inhabitants.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan (UNMIS) now watched the observance of the peace treaty concluded by the warring parties, in which the Bundeswehr had been involved for the past year.
Erler admitted that the implementation of the peace treaty did not make as much progress as had originally been planned. “Monitoring the process continues to be necessary,” he said.
This is why the federal government applied for an extension of the assignment of German troops in Sudan for another six months.
The aim of UNMIS was to disengage troops and disarm the militias in order to end “one of the bloodiest civil wars ever”. The UN Security Council’s adoption of Resolution 1590 tasked UNMIS with supporting the Government of Sudan and the SPLM/A in the implementation of the CPA after 21 years of civil war.
Under the current Bundestag resolution, which will not be revised, Germany is allowed to support the UN mission with up to 75 unarmed military observers and field officers. At the moment, there are eight officers and 20 military observers deployed there.
(ST)