UN chief hails creation of group backing Darfur hybrid force
March 7, 2008 (UNITED NATIONS) — UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday hailed the creation of an international group to back the deployment of the joint UN-African Union peace force in Sudan’s Darfur region and urged member states to contribute needed assets.
He welcomed the establishment of “Friends of Unamid,” a reference to the joint UN-AU peacekeeping force. The group’s first meeting was convened Thursday in New York by the United States and Canada.
In a statement released by his press office, the secretary-general “urges all Unamid troop and police contributors to expedite the deployment of the units and assets that they have pledged to the operation.”
He lauded Washington’s decision to help accelerate the deployment by providing 100 million dollars to African troop contributing countries for training and equipping military units which have been pledged for Unamid.
Ban also urged member states “to provide the outstanding enabling units, including air assets, in order to permit Unamid to achieve full operating capability.”
Unamid still lacks crucial components, including a ground transport unit, 18 transport helicopters and six light tactical helicopters meant to provide air mobility and firepower to protect civilians and peacekeepers.
The force is to total 26,000 members protecting the civilian population of a region the size of France and which has been beset by civil war between ethnic minority rebels and the Arab-dominated government.
(AFP)