Hybrid peacekeeping force could be in Darfur by Oct – Sudan

June 13, 2007 (NAIROBI) — A joint African Union-U.N. peacekeeping force could be in conflict-torn Darfur by October, depending on how quickly the two organizations are able to get troops and funds, a Sudanese diplomat said Wednesday.

This is possible after Sudan received assurances Tuesday that a “hybrid” AU- U.N. force of between 17,000 and 19,000 troops for Darfur won’t be open-ended and Sudan will remain in control of its border, said Akuei Bona Malwal, the deputy head of mission for Sudan in Ethiopia, where the African Union is based.

Sudan has accepted the mission, “now it is up to the international community to find the troops and fund these troops,” Malwal told The AP on the phone from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. “Probably you are looking at October because it will take time for people to get together and the money put together, but there are states that are ready to move in August and fund themselves.”

Malwal declined to name the countries, only saying they are “two or three” African countries.

(AP)