Darfur needs up to 60,000 troops – AU

April 18, 200 (ABUJA) — Commander of the African Union (AU) Force in Darfur Maj. Gen. Collins Ihikere said here Tuesday that the 7,000 troops in the troubled area were not sufficient and up to 60,000 troops more were needed.

“If you compare the strength of troops in a place like Liberia which is smaller than Darfur and we go by that kind of ratio, we might be looking at maybe 50,000 to 60,000 troops in Darfur,” he said.

At a news briefing in the Nigerian capital Abuja, Ihikere said Sudan deserved such attention because it was a big territory and had the largest land mass in Africa.

He, however, rejected suggestions that the current figure was just like a drop in the ocean. “It (figure) is more than a drop. Really more than a drop,” he said.

He said the AU Mission in Darfur was an observer mission whose primary motive was to maintain ceasefire agreements.

The mission, he added, was charged with protecting internally displaced persons and also to protect Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and international agencies that might be in danger.

“So you see, we are not keeping the peace as in the concept of peacekeeping between warring parties,” he said.

Ihikere also spoke on the enhanced peace agreement, explaining that it was expected to strengthen the peace agreements in the Chadian capital Ndjamena.

Specifically, he said, the aim was to check the incessant violations that had frustrated efforts toward a stable Darfur and ending the crises there.

The Darfur conflict, which began in February 2003, has claimed thousands upon thousands of lives and driven more than 1 million others from their homes.

(Xinhua/ST)