Sudan ruling party rejects any joint or mixed forces in Darfur
Nov 19, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The ruling National Congress Party has renewed its absolute rejection any resolution of deployment of joint or mixed international in Darfur.
In a press statement Sunday, Deputy Chairman of the National Congress and Secretary of the Information Secretariat, Ibrahim Ahmed Omer, said that Sudan will not accept full command of the UN to the African Union forces in Darfur.
He said that the number of forces in the coming stage will be discussed in the coming meeting of the African Peace and Security on November 29.
After Addis Ababa meeting on Thursday 16 November of Sudanese, AU and UN Security Council permanent members, Kofi Annan, UN secretary-general, said Khartoum had agreed in principle to a mixed force, which was interpreted by some as a joint AU-UN operation.
Lam Akol, Sudan’s foreign minister, said the peacekeeping mission will continue to be led by the AU and suggested the mandate would not be altered. He also said Sudan had not agreed the extent to which the AU force should be expanded – the UN has been calling for a 17,000-strong military force and 3,000 police.
The cash-strapped AU has some 7,000 troops deployed in Darfur, a tiny presence in a region the size of France. The mission, which lacks resources and experience, has been unable to stem the violence and has been criticised for having a poor command structure and failing to be pro-active.
In August, the UN Security Council called for the AU force to be replaced by a 17,000-strong UN mission.
But after Sudan repeatedly rejected the transition, diplomats sought a compromise and the notion of a “hybrid” force was put forward. The Security Council compromise appeared to be a significant retreat, although diplomats insisted the goal was the creation of an effective force.
Akol said Khartoum had agreed the UN could send personnel to provide technical and administrative support to the AU, but that Sudan had rejected a proposal that the UN be involved in deciding on the appointment of the mission’s political and military chiefs.
(ST/FT)