Donors pledge to boost African force in Darfur

Aid donors meeting in the Belgian capital have pledged about US $220 million in additional funding to the African Union (AU) force struggling to keep the peace in Sudan's western region of Darfur. The funding will help the Africa Mission in Sudan protect civilians and monitor the implementation of a Peace Agreement signed in May between the Sudanese government and some of the rebel groups in Darfur. During Tuesday's pledging conference in Brussels, representatives of the international donor community insisted that the AU peacekeeping mandate must be transferred to the United Nations by 1 January 2007. "I can't foresee any realistic exit of the Darfur conflict without such a transition [from AU to UN peacekeeping], and I can't either imagine that the government of Sudan would continue to oppose it," the EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana said at the conference. Limited funding and lack of equipment have impaired the capacity of the 7,000-strong Africa Mission to effectively carry out its peacekeeping mandate in Darfur. Early this month, the AU extended the Mission’s mandate in Darfur to the end of 2006 as the international community grappled with the Sudanese government's reluctance to have the African troops replaced by a UN force. At the same time relief agencies warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis in the region with more civilians caught in escalating violence between armed groups. The United States said it would give $116 million to be used to strengthen the Africa Mission in Sudan, while the EU will make available $31.2 million to the Mission on top of an additional $50 million for the humanitarian effort in Darfur. The Netherlands pledged $31.2 million, Britain $36.6 million, France $2.5 million and Belgium $1.25 million. The pledges would only be enough to sustain the Mission until the end of September; it needs an extra $450 million to operate until year-end, to pay for extra soldiers to be deployed, communications equipment, air support capability and more vehicles. "The situation is precarious. The strengthening of [the Africa Mission] should be our priority because the next six months are critical," said the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guéhenno. "If we have a strong [Africa Mission], we will have a strong UN mission," he added. A senior European Commission official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the real problem was that the "the AU is snowed under with the complexities of financial management". UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the world body had no "hidden agenda" in Sudan. "United Nations peacekeeping forces – which will come primarily from Africa and Asia, with some additional, and much needed, support from developed countries – will come to Darfur not as occupiers, but as helpers," said Annan. fjo/jn/mw