Darfur AU peacekeeping force extended for 6 months

Nov 30, 2006 (ABUJA) — The African Union will extend for six months the mandate of its peacekeeping force in Sudan’s Darfur region, its peace and security commissioner said on Thursday.

“The (AU) peace and security council decided to renew the mandate for six months, with the possibility of a review in the interim,” AU peace and security commissioner Said Djinit said after a meeting in Nigeria’s capital Abuja.

A delegate to the talks said the commander of the AU force would be appointed by the AU in consultation with the United Nations and the Sudanese government, which has refused to accept the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur.

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said he would accept U.N. “political, financial, logistics and technical” support for an African peace force in Darfur.

Asked what kind of support he would like, he replied: “Political, financial, logistics and technical … Not the command but advising the command”.

“The numbers should be estimated by the commanders on the ground. We are not setting numbers,” Bashir said.

Diplomats have advocated strengthening the current 7,000-strong AU force in Darfur.

Darfur’s conflict blew up in 2003, with local rebel movements fighting government forces and allied mounted militia known as Janjaweed.

Experts estimate 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million uprooted by the violence, which the U.S. government has labelled genocide.

(Reuters)