China willing to send engineers to Darfur to support UN force

May 7, 2007 (WASHINGTON) — China, which generally has opposed international efforts to bring peace to Sudan’s Darfur region, is willing to send hundreds of engineers to the area to support a U.N.-backed deployment of peacekeepers, the U.S. State Department said.

“We see this as a positive development, and we appreciate China’s contribution in the international effort to stop the violence in Darfur,” department press officer Gonzalo Gallegos said.

He said the engineers will help prepare for the arrival of a hybrid force of 3,000 U.N. and African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. Subsequently, upward of 17, 000 additional troops are due to be stationed there in keeping with a U.N. plan to protect and provide relief for 2.5 million Darfurians confined to camps in the devastated region.

The Sudanese government has yet to agree to the larger force. “We look to China to use its significant leverage in Khartoum to make this happen as soon as possible,” Gallegos said.

Sudan is a major supplier of oil to China, which generally has joined Khartoum in opposition to tough international action in support of the suffering Darfurians.

China has distanced itself somewhat from Sudan lately, however, agreeing in late 2006 to support deployment of the hybrid force.

The U.S. has warned of the possibility of additional sanctions against Sudan if President Omar al-Bashir’s government continues to balk at acceptance of the force.

(AP)