Darfur peacekeepers battalions to start arriving in June
April 30, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — Two battalions to reinforce Darfur’s fledgling U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission will arrive in June, the first step to deploying 80 percent of the force by the end of the year, the head of mission said on Wednesday.
Four months after assuming peacekeeping responsibilities in Sudan’s lawless west, suffering from five years of violence Washington calls genocide, one third of the force strength has worked overtime but failed to prevent attacks hindering the world’s largest aid operation.
“We are expecting one battalion from Ethiopia and one battalion from Egypt…in June,” Rodolphe Adada told reporters in Khartoum.
He said the delays came because many of the mostly African troops pledged did not have the equipment required by the United Nations to deploy but that Western nations had agreed to help equip them.
Western nations blame Sudan’s government for the delays as Khartoum rejected non-African troops like contingents from Thailand and Nepal. But Adada said the delays were not all Sudan’s fault.
“As we have signed the SOFA we can say that there is no impediment now from the political side from the government of Sudan,” he said.
The SOFA, rules guiding the operations of the force known as UNAMID, were agreed in February after weeks of negotiations.
And Adada said he was confident that once the first African troops deployed, the non-Africans would soon follow.
“We have to start by deploying African troops,” he said. “We think that we will have then the other troops come in including the Thai and Nepalese and non-African troops,” he added.
Adada said he hoped 80 percent of UNAMID would deploy by year end. At full strength, the largest U.N.-funded peacekeeping mission in the world will be more than 26,000 police and troops.
“We are sure that by the end of this year we will have enough capabilities to fulfill our mission,” he said. That includes protecting onvoys of humanitarian aid going to more than 4 million Darfuris affected by the war.
Banditry has forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to cut rations by almost half in May for Darfuris, as trucks were unable to reach food stores ahead of the rainy season when much of the region the size of France is inaccessible by road.
But Adada emphasised a peace process and cessation of hostilities was crucial to the success of the mission. Rebel divisions and continued violence on the ground have stalled talks for two years.
International experts estimate some 200,000 have died and 2.5 million driven from their homes since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing central government of neglect.
Khartoum disputes the death toll saying 10,000 have died and blames the Western media for exaggerating the fighting.
(Reuters)