Security Council may vote UN mandate for AU force in Darfur – report

Oct 18, 2006 (LONDON) — To break the current impasse caused by the Sudanese rejection of the deployment of the international troops in Darfur troubled region, the Security Council could adopt a mandate for the African Union peacekeepers in Darfur.

According to the Guardian, there are speculations on the possibility of a UN mandate for African Union troops or an “AU-Plus” plan of an increase in AU troops funded by western states.

Hilary Benn, UK Secretary of State for International Development,who returns from one day visit to Khartoum told the Guardian “Once we get beyond the end of this month we’ll have to consider alternatives” to the 1706 resolution.

After a one-day trip to Darfur and Khartoum, where he met the president, Omar al-Bashir, Benn said the Sudanese leader “remains resolutely opposed” to UN resolution 1706, which calls for 20,000 troops to replace the current contingent of 7,000 from the African Union, which is due to leave at the end of December

Sudan claims a UN force would amount to a “recolonisation” of the country as it would be mandated to reform Sudan’s police and judiciary. Benn said: “He acknowledged the resolution would help in funding more troops but he didn’t indicate any movement on the principle.”

Reliablbe sources in Khartoum told the Sudan Tribune that president al-Bashir told many foreign officials that he is not against the UN troops as such but he could not accept the current UN resolution 1706.

Benn’s visit coincides with a six-day tour of Sudan by Andrew Natsios, George Bush’s new special envoy. The EU commission president, José Manuel Barroso, saw al-Bashir a fortnight ago and a senior Sudanese presidential adviser was in Paris last week.

Sudan is looking to Europe to broker a compromise. It was angered by Bush’s decision to toughen sanctions on Sudan on Friday, the day that Natsios left for Khartoum. The White House renewed a freeze on Sudanese government assets held in the US and added a ban on oil and petrochemical transactions.

If the AU force leaves in December, up to two million displaced people will be left unprotected. A surge in fighting in the past three months has forced 50,000 more villagers to flee and humanitarian agencies have had to cut aid to rural areas.

(The Guardian/ST)