No Canadian troops for UN mission in Darfur – PM
May 9, 2006 (OTTAWA) — Canadian troops are unlikely to help shore up a fragile peace in Sudan’s bloodied Darfur region as part of a UN mission, Prime Minister Stephen Harper indicated, but Ottawa is keen to offer humanitarian aid.
“The government of Canada has been in consultation with our allies on how we can assist the United Nations … in regards to peace initiatives in Darfur,” Harper told the House of Commons.
“We are expecting requests for assistance on governance and humanitarian assistance. At this moment it doesn’t appear that there will be any requests for military assistance,” he said.
“But, we stand ready to work with our international allies to improve the situation in Darfur.”
His comments come one day after Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor told a Senate national security committee that Canada’s military is stretched thin after deploying 2,300 troops to hunt down Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants in Afghanistan in February.
Thus, Canadian troops would not be able to participate in a UN mission in Darfur, he said.
“We would be greatly challenged to take on a commitment anywhere else in the world,” O’Connor said.
Darfur, an arid desert region of western Sudan the size of France, erupted into civil war in early 2003 when armed local movements began fighting the Arab-led government in Khartoum, demanding more autonomy for the region.
In response, the Sudanese regime unleashed the Janjaweed militia to carry out brutal attacks on Darfur’s largely black African population. The combined effect of war and famine has left up to 300,000 people dead and displaced more than two million.
The government in Khartoum and the main rebel faction of the Sudanese Liberation Movement signed a peace deal on Friday, but other rebel groups refused, saying they would not accept the UN-sponsored deal.
On Monday, US President George W. Bush called for a new UN-led force, backed by NATO, and probably double the current African Union deployment, to take over peacekeeping in Darfur.
The 7,000-strong AU, which was deployed in 2004, has been suffering from poor funding and inadequate resources to contain the escalating bloodshed in Darfur.
Last week, Canadian Senator Romeo Dallaire, ex-commander of the UN mission during genocide in Rwanda in 1994, beseeched Ottawa to commit about 1,500 troops to a “robust” UN mission to bring peace and stability to Darfur.
Canadian lawmakers also debated Ottawa’s position on the conflict in the House of Commons a week ago, but made no firm commitments.
Canada currently has 47 soldiers in Sudan: 32 with a United Nations mission and 15 with the African Union in Darfur.
(ST)