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Sudan Tribune

Plural news and views on Sudan

Britain sends in military team to investigate Sudan aid effort

By Michael Smith, Defence Correspondent, and David Blair in Khartoum

LONDON, KHARTOUM, Aug 14, 2004 (The Daily Telegraph) — A British military reconnaissance team has visited Sudan to investigate the possibility of sending medics and logistical personnel to assist in any United Nations operation to provide aid to the people of Darfur.

The 30-strong team from the Permanent Joint Headquarters, led by a colonel, included medics, logistics staff and communications experts.

It spent 10 days investigating the possibility of mounting an aid and assistance operation. The team is understood to have reported back this week to Air Marshal Glenn Torpy, Chief of Joint Operations, on the problems any force would face.

Its report said that medical aid was the priority rather than food, but that the terrain was difficult and any medical and logistics staff would need strong defences.

Gen Sir Mike Jackson, Chief of General Staff, has raised the possibility of sending a 5,000-strong force, but defence sources said current planning was based around a battle group formation of 1,800 soldiers that could deploy next month.

It would include a medical transport unit, logistical and communications experts and an infantry battalion to provide force protection.

A senior defence source said the situation was very complex and was not just about providing aid. “We need to look at protecting ourselves and the displaced persons; it is a massive problem. Our planning allows us to look at the problems of dealing with thousands of people. There are currently 850,000 homeless and we need to review how we are going to prevent the Janjaweed [the notorious pro-government militia] from mounting further attacks.

“In addition we need to take into account the terrain and the hostile environment. Sudan has a reputation next to the Ivory Coast as the white man’s graveyard. It is packed with disease.

“Humanitarian agencies are already in Sudan, but they will be reluctant to take aid from us or work alongside us for fear that their impartiality will be compromised. It is very complex.”

There was also a potential threat from al-Qa’eda, the source said. The United States has teams of special forces in Sudan hunting down al-Qa’eda units allegedly training in the mountains.

The key objective for any British troops in Darfur would be to create enough security for the refugees to go home.

At present, the region’s terrified people live in squalid camps, unable to return to their villages for fear of attack. Rebels from the Sudan Liberation Army and the Janjaweed have both destroyed countless villages.

The Khartoum regime has promised to restore order in Darfur and has deployed thousands of extra police for the task. Yet the government’s links to the Janjaweed mean that few of the refugees, 158,000 of whom have fled to neighbouring Chad, trust its pledges. Hardly any are willing to return at the moment. A British force might be able to reassure them. But Darfur is the size of France and a force even of the size mooted by Gen Jackson would be nowhere near sufficient to restore security in the area.

Aid workers say that the key threats to the refugees are the outbreak of hepatitis E in the camps, with 480 cases recorded so far, and the possibility that Sudan’s regime might impose restrictions on humanitarian work.

The UN Security Council is due to debate Sudan at the end of this month and decide whether the regime has complied with last month’s resolution demanding the Janjaweed’s disarmament. If the Security Council decides to punish Sudan, the Khartoum regime could retaliate by re-imposing visa restrictions on aid workers and placing more bureaucratic obstacles in their path. This would cripple the flow of humanitarian aid to the camps.

Aid workers in Darfur point out that the deployment of British troops would not address either of these key dangers.

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