AU warns over continuing crisis in Darfur

An armed protection force being sent by the African Union (AU) to the western Sudanese region of Darfur "would not sit by idly" while atrocities persisted, the chairman of the AU Commission warned on Thursday. Alpha Oumar Konare also called for an end to the bombardment of villages in the strife-torn region, saying an estimated 30,000 people had been killed. The AU, he said, would send 300 troops to allow refugees to return home and to protect AU observers monitoring the shaky ceasefire signed on 8 April between the government and rebels. More than a million people have fled violence in Darfur, where Arab militias are accused of perpetrating a campaign of ethnic cleansing against non-Arabs. "They [AU troops] do not have the mandate to prevent [attacks], but it doesn’t mean they are going to sit idle with their hands folded," Konare said. "If this kind of situation arises, we will take note and see what has to be done," he told journalists at the end of the three-day AU summit. Konare added that the Sudanese government had promised to cooperate with the force, which would be deployed soon. He did not give a date for the deployment. "We have asked for an immediate stop to the bombing," Konare said. He added that the Sudanese government had been asked to create the "necessary conditions" for renewed peace talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on 15 July. The AU force is expected to consist of 120 soldiers from Nigeria and 120 from Rwanda. Tanzania and Botswana may also send additional peacekeepers. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo told reporters that key mini-summits that had been held on the fringes of the AU summit illustrated the Union's commitment to resolving the continent's conflicts. "The issues demonstrate our determination to be proactive," said Obasanjo, who is the new chairman of the AU. "It will not be a protection force were it not to prevent [violence] and protect lives and property." During a visit to the region last week, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and US Secretary of State Colin Powell won a commitment from Sudanese President Umar Hasan al-Bashir to contain the militias and allow human rights monitors into Darfur. But relief workers say the violence has continued. Earlier, the 38 AU heads of state agreed that the seat of a new pan-African parliament would be in South Africa. The summit also backed the three-year US $1.7-billion vision, mission and strategy of the AU, spelt out by Konare, to build a new Africa. But they said a summit would be convened later this year to discuss AU financing.