UN peace force in Sudan to cost 595 million dollars

NEW YORK, April 21, 2005 (SPA) — The U.N. General Assembly on Thursday authorized a budget of 595 million dollars for the U.N. peacekeeping operation in Sudan, where a Khartoum and an armed opposition group in the south signed a peace agreement.

SPLA troops line up during a public rally in Rumbek on January 10, 2005 to celebrate a final peace agreement with the Khartoum government that was signed in Kenya January 9. (AFP).

The 10,000-strong U.N. force will monitor the peace agreement while providing support for diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur. The 595-million-dollar budget covers expenses for this year alone.

The force was established by the U.N. Security Council last month for an initial six-month period to provide support for the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Sudanese government and the southern People’s Liberation Movement/Army headed by John Garang. The north-south civil war has lasted for decades.

The assembly authorized the budget with a warning that the U.N. was short of funds to support peacekeeping operations around the world, particularly those in Africa, which now has the largest number of U.N. forces in the world.

The peace force in the Democratic Republic of Congo consists of 16,000 military and civilian personnel while the Liberian force has close to 15,000.