An increased role for United Nations’ peacekeepers in the troubled Darfur region of western Sudan should be led by African diplomatic initiatives, the UN’s top peacekeeping official Jean-Marie Guehenno has said.
The African Union’s (AU) Peace and Security Council is scheduled to meet in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo, next week to decide upon the future of some 7,000 AU troops currently in Darfur to help protect civilians from attacks by government forces, allied militias and rebel forces.
"That doesn’t mean that we would not have to go beyond African capacities as a sign of solidarity and support to Africa by the rest of the world, in addition to troop contributing countries," Guehenno told reporters in New York.
"We’re not dogmatic about it but we do believe that in all likelihood that it would require additional support beyond Africa," he said of a meeting due to be held on Thursday between Sudanese government representatives and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
Guehenno’s statement – after he addressed the UN Security Council on Tuesday - is interpreted by some as an effort to mollify the Sudanese government which opposes a Council proposal that the AU puts its forces in Darfur under UN command to enforce a peace accord and bolster the protection of civilians.
"The government of Sudan has expressed its support in the package we are developing in support of the AU. The government of Sudan’s position on the transition hasn’t changed so far," he added.
The UN announced on Monday that it would give US $77 million more for personnel and equipment for AU troops - many of whom have apparently not been paid recently, and who are also poorly equipped.
More than 200,000 people are estimated to have died in Darfur since conflict there began in 2003, and 2.5 million more have been displaced.
"I think that between now and the 24th [November, the Brazzaville meeting] I do hope that the international community will come together - that the African Union, the UN, the government of Sudan, bearing in mind what remains a very tragic situation on the ground, will make the right decision so we can help the people of Sudan, the people who are suffering, to put an end to that suffering," Guehenno said.
Reports of renewed fighting in Darfur have worried many in the international community. "We have seen an intensification of military operations, and that needs to stop," he said. "We are calling on all parties to desist from any military action. If the fighting continues on the ground, it will be very difficult to see how any credible political process will take root," said Guehenno.
A peace accord was signed between Sudan’s government and several rebel group in May. Other Darfuri rebel groups, however, refused to sign it, and fighting has continued as the government and its allies have attacked them. Nomads, recently rearmed by the government according to international observers have also attacked civilian villages as they move their livestock onto other pastures for the Darfuri cold season.
Fighting in Darfur has spilled over the border into neighbouring Chad, where more than 200 people were killed in intercommunal hostilities earlier this week, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. The Chadian government has also declared a state of emergency in the southeast of Chad, as Chadians and Darfuris flee from attacks.
The UNHCR says it had to call off an interagency mission to the recently-attacked Chadian village of Louboutigue on Monday, when shots were fired as their team approached it.
"We are sending an assessment team to Chad and the Central African Republic early next week. We see this as a real priority because we see the conflict as spilling over into the whole region," Guehenno said.
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The African Union’s (AU) Peace and Security Council is scheduled to meet in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo, next week to decide upon the future of some 7,000 AU troops currently in Darfur to help protect civilians from attacks by government forces, allied militias and rebel forces.
"That doesn’t mean that we would not have to go beyond African capacities as a sign of solidarity and support to Africa by the rest of the world, in addition to troop contributing countries," Guehenno told reporters in New York.
"We’re not dogmatic about it but we do believe that in all likelihood that it would require additional support beyond Africa," he said of a meeting due to be held on Thursday between Sudanese government representatives and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
Guehenno’s statement – after he addressed the UN Security Council on Tuesday - is interpreted by some as an effort to mollify the Sudanese government which opposes a Council proposal that the AU puts its forces in Darfur under UN command to enforce a peace accord and bolster the protection of civilians.
"The government of Sudan has expressed its support in the package we are developing in support of the AU. The government of Sudan’s position on the transition hasn’t changed so far," he added.
The UN announced on Monday that it would give US $77 million more for personnel and equipment for AU troops - many of whom have apparently not been paid recently, and who are also poorly equipped.
More than 200,000 people are estimated to have died in Darfur since conflict there began in 2003, and 2.5 million more have been displaced.
"I think that between now and the 24th [November, the Brazzaville meeting] I do hope that the international community will come together - that the African Union, the UN, the government of Sudan, bearing in mind what remains a very tragic situation on the ground, will make the right decision so we can help the people of Sudan, the people who are suffering, to put an end to that suffering," Guehenno said.
Reports of renewed fighting in Darfur have worried many in the international community. "We have seen an intensification of military operations, and that needs to stop," he said. "We are calling on all parties to desist from any military action. If the fighting continues on the ground, it will be very difficult to see how any credible political process will take root," said Guehenno.
A peace accord was signed between Sudan’s government and several rebel group in May. Other Darfuri rebel groups, however, refused to sign it, and fighting has continued as the government and its allies have attacked them. Nomads, recently rearmed by the government according to international observers have also attacked civilian villages as they move their livestock onto other pastures for the Darfuri cold season.
Fighting in Darfur has spilled over the border into neighbouring Chad, where more than 200 people were killed in intercommunal hostilities earlier this week, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. The Chadian government has also declared a state of emergency in the southeast of Chad, as Chadians and Darfuris flee from attacks.
The UNHCR says it had to call off an interagency mission to the recently-attacked Chadian village of Louboutigue on Monday, when shots were fired as their team approached it.
"We are sending an assessment team to Chad and the Central African Republic early next week. We see this as a real priority because we see the conflict as spilling over into the whole region," Guehenno said.
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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