Sudan says committed to UN Darfur peacekeepers -envoy
March 2, 2007 (UNITED NATIONS) — Sudan’s president is sending a letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressing his commitment to the deployment of several thousand U.N. peacekeepers to help end the violence in Darfur, Sudan’s U.N. envoy said Friday.
The deployment would be the second step of U.N. plan that would culminate in a 22,000-strong joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has given conflicting signals about his commitment to the plan, and Ban asked him earlier this year to state his acceptance of the second phase in writing.
Al-Bashir’s letter expresses his commitment but also raises “issues of operational, technical and legal aspects” of the proposal, Sudanese Ambassador Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem told The Associated Press. He declined to elaborate on those concerns.
Sudan agreed to the initiative in November, and al-Bashir reiterated his commitment in a Dec. 23 letter to former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. But last month, al-Bashir said U.N. troops were not required in Darfur because the 7,000-member AU force on the ground could maintain order.
Abdalhaleem said Ban would be receiving the letter “at any moment.” Ban’s office said the secretary-general did not have the letter but was told al-Bashir had written it.
“Sudan of course is committed to the support by the U.N. to AMIS,” Abdalhaleem said, referring to the AU force by its acrononym. “The letter expresses commitment to that but also deals with issues of operational, technical and legal aspects.”
The first phase — a “light support” package adding some equipment, military officers and U.N. police to the AU operation — is nearly almost complete. The second phase is a “heavy support” package that includes the deployment of more than 3,000 U.N. military, police and civilian personnel, along with substantial aviation and logistical assets.
South Africa’s Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, who holds the rotating Security Council presidency, said council members were told al-Bashir had sent the letter, though he said he did not know its contents. “We are told the letter has been signed by al-Bashir and it’s on its way,” Kumalo told a news conference.
Darfur’s conflict erupted in 2003 when ethnic African rebels took arms against the Arab-dominated central government, accusing it of neglect. More than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have fled their homes. The government is accused of unleashing militias known as the janjaweed blamed for the bulk of the conflict’s atrocities.
In a report Wednesday, Ban called on al-Bashir to “uphold his commitment” to the U.N.-AU peacekeeping plan.
He also urged countries to provide “urgent contributions of human resources and equipment” for the joint force and said the second phase would cost $287.9 million (€218.72 million).
On Friday, European Union defense ministers offered support the joint mission. However, the EU has provided most of the financing for the AU force now in Darfur — some $530 million (€400 million) since 2004 — and the bloc’s special peace support fund for Africa has run dry.
EU foreign ministers are expected to seek extra funding Monday from the EU aid budget and from the coffers of its 27 member governments.
(AP)