Britain to give additional funding to AU mission

Britain will provide an additional 20 million pounds sterling (US $34.8 million) to support the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), said international development secretary Hilary Benn during a visit to the Sudanese region of Darfur, where the AMIS peacekeeping force is deployed. "Funding for AMIS is running low, and the international community must do more to ensure the African Union can operate effectively as preparations are made for a handover to the United Nations. Improving security must be the priority," Benn said on Tuesday in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state. "The UK stands ready to provide equipment, fund essential expenses - for example, fuel costs - and provide experts to strengthen AMIS headquarters and operations," a statement by Britain's department for international development quoted him as saying. AMIS peacekeepers and monitors are helping to maintain a shaky ceasefire in Darfur, where rebels took up arms in February 2003 in a bid to end what they said was state discrimination and marginalisation of the region's ethnic African inhabitants. Earlier this month, the UN Security Council asked the Secretary-General to begin contingency planning on options for the possible handing over of the African Union-led mission to the UN. Despite its limited capacity, the 6,964-strong AMIS force, which was deployed in Darfur in August 2004, has been credited with helping to improve security in the region and enabling humanitarian agencies to deliver aid to those affected by the conflict. "I have seen firsthand today how AMIS soldiers and police on the ground are making every effort in difficult circumstances to protect the lives of the people living in the Darfur camps," Benn said. "But, talking to women who were forced to flee their homes, it is clear that they don’t feel it is safe to go back." Britain had already earmarked 19 million pounds sterling ($33 million) this financial year to fund AMIS, to be used to provide equipment, including over 900 vehicles; military and civilian policing advice, expertise and training; airlift of troops; and troop rotation. According to the UN, the Darfur conflict continues to affect some 3.4 million people. An estimated 1.8 million people have been internally displaced and 200,000 have fled to neighbouring Chad.