Weaknesses exposed in Darfur peacekeeping force
Blake Evans-Pritchard
January 24, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — On Jan. 7, military forces from the Sudanese government opened fire on a convoy of peacekeepers in Darfur. Although the government denies that the attack was intentional, it has thrown into question the capability of UNAMID, the joint U.N.-African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in the region, to keep the peace.
“Right now, the mission is extremely vulnerable,” says Sam Ibok, chief AU negotiator for Darfur told IPS. “The mission needs to have the confidence to find out what is happening on the ground,” Ibok stressed. “Helicopters could have helped prevent the UNAMID envoy from being attacked,” he said, “People would think twice before attacking if they know the peacekeepers can respond effectively.”
The U.N. and AU negotiation teams have asked for 24 helicopters, including six attack helicopters. But, despite a worldwide appeal, not one helicopter capable of operating in Darfur has been found. UNAMID turned down an offer of helicopters from Jordan, which they deemed inadequate for the mission.
Before Christmas, a group of 35 non-government organisations (NGOs) published a report condemning the Sudanese government for obstructing the peace process, and calling on the international community to step up its efforts to find a solution for the helicopter problem.
“The international community is… handing the Sudanese government an easy excuse to explain delays and a ripe opportunity to direct attention away from its calculated inaction,” the report says.
Salena Brewer of Human Rights Watch (HRW), who co-authored the report, comments: “There are thousands of helicopters out there, and I can’t believe that the international community is not able to find the 24 they need. This plays right into the hands of the government of Sudan.” Brewer adds that many governments are reluctant to loan helicopters to the mission because they fear losing them in a hostile environment.
The aim is for UNAMID to have 26,000 troops on the ground, but so far only 9,000 have been deployed. Part of the problem remains the government’s insistence that it can only accept contributions from African nations.
Fresh deployments are on the horizon, though. Egypt has pledged 1,200 soldiers, and Rwanda has offered 800. Ethiopia also plans to make a debut into the international peacekeeping arena, although discussions are still pending about how many troops they will send. But the force looks set to fall well short of the 26,000 target.
A continuing source of embarrassment for UNAMID is that, even once deployed, troops are ill equipped. Noureddine Mezni, spokesman for UNAMID, laments that a group of Chinese engineers and a Bangladeshi police force are still waiting for the proper equipment that they need to carry out their duties. This is why UNAMID Force Commander General Martin Agwai has been in Cairo, carefully inspecting the equipment of the Egyptian troops and making sure that it is ready for deployment.
The so-called Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) is also providing something of a headache for UNAMID. A SOFA is an arrangement between a host nation and a party stationing troops in that country. The U.N. insists that the SOFA it wants the Sudanese government to sign is a standard one that it uses in peacekeeping operations around the world. But Khartoum wants to insert additional clauses into the agreement, requiring UNAMID to give advance notification of all its movements and to switch off their communications network during national security operations.
UNAMID maintains that neither clause is acceptable. Agwai has recently held a series of meetings with government officials in Khartoum, trying to secure agreement on the SOFA. “Progress is being made and we hope that we will be able to finalise the agreement soon,” Mezni told IPS. He declined to give further details.
The government has also been criticised for refusing to allow UNAMID aircraft to fly at night, apart from in emergencies. Mutrif Sidiq, undersecretary for the foreign ministry, argues that airports in Darfur are fairly small and do not have the 24-hour capability to allow night flights. UNAMID, though, says that many attacks on civilians happen at night and therefore the ability to monitor the situation on a 24-hour basis is crucial to the success of the operation.
Khartoum also stands accused of unnecessarily delaying the allocation of land for UNAMID bases. Sidiq says that this was because of the difficulty in finding vacant areas that had easy road access and were near an airport, the two key requirements for the force. The land issue is almost resolved now. In December, land was agreed for bases in El Geneina and negotiations are now understood to be close to completion for allocation of land around Zalingei. However, HRW cautions that any future deployment of troops will require additional land bases, which will have to be negotiated with the government.
Ibok attaches great importance to the UNAMID force and says that, unless its weaknesses are addressed, it will not be possible to start the next round of peace talks. “UNAMID is necessary for bringing security and protection to the people of Darfur so that they can have the confidence to search for a political solution to the conflict,” says Ibok.
According to Ibok, preparations for the next round of peace talks could begin within the next six to eight weeks, providing that the security situation improves on the ground and the rebel groups come forward with a common position.
There are five principal rebel factions in Darfur: the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) Unity, the United Resistance Front, two Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM) factions — one led by Abdul Wahid and the other by Abdul Shafie — and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
The security situation in Darfur remains precarious. Recently, fresh fighting erupted in Western Darfur, along the Chadian border. Ibok believes that this could be the main challenge that UNAMID peacekeepers have to face in the coming months, but he stresses that unless the weaknesses in the force are addressed, it could be heading for failure.
(IPS)