US condemns Darfur rebel threats against Chinese peacekeepers

November 27, 2007 (WASHINGTON) — The U.S. government condemned on Tuesday recent threat of violence by some rebel leaders in Sudan against Chinese engineers who are serving as part of the United Nation (UN) – African Union (AU) Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

“We oppose any efforts to delay the rapid deployment of UNAMID,” State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey said in a statement.

He urged the Sudanese government to “approve without delay the full list of troop-contributing countries chosen by the U.N. and the AU to deploy to Darfur.”

“The Sudanese government must meet its commitment to accept UNAMID peacekeepers and provide them with access to land and water, flight clearances and visas necessary to carry out their mission,” he added.

The 140-strong Chinese peacekeepers arrived in South Darfur State capital Niyala last week with missions including building camps, roads and airports, and digging wells in addition to some other projects in preparations for the deployment of peacekeepers from other countries.

This is the first batch of the U.N. peacekeepers arriving in the region to implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1769 adopted on July 31, which authorizes the deployment of a 26,000-strong hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur.

The Chinese government has exerted a lot of efforts to help resolve the Darfur problem since armed conflicts erupted in the region in 2003, including appointing a special envoy for the Darfur issues and providing a large amount of relief materials to the region.

However, Darfur rebels have charged that as “allies” of the government in Khartoum, the Chinese peacekeepers are not immune from attack.

(Xinhua)