Darfur to get more help - AU
2005-05-23 21:47
Addis Ababa - The Africa Union will press donor for six helicopter gunships, 116 armoured personnel carriers and other equipment for its peacekeepers struggling to end the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's western Darfur region.
The logistical and material support would help the AU raise the number of its peacekeepers and step up operations to stabilise Darfur, a country with one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Assane Ba of AU said: "The international community has asked us to increase our strength which we are doing and so I think they will support us both logistically and financially."
An estimated 180 000 people had died - many from hunger and disease - and about 2 million others had fled their homes in Darfur to escape the conflict between rebels on one side and government forces pro-government militia on the other.
Conference to raise funds for Darfur
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Nato
secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and European Union's security affairs chief Javier Solana were expected in Addis Ababa this week for a conference intended to raise funds for the AU's Darfur operation.
Nato allies had agreed late last month to consider offering logistical help to the AU in Darfur after a written request from the its chair Alpha Oumar Konare.
While the initiative did not involve sending troops, officials had described it as the most significant Nato focus on an African security problem.
The AU was also seeking dozens of ambulances, operational helicopters, passenger and cargo aircraft as well as trucks for African troops operating in Darfur, a region the size of France.
Logistical problems, lack of support
The AU was trying to beef up its 2 270-strong peacekeeping force in Darfur to more than 7 700 troops by September, and 12 000 next year.
It had been bogged down by logistical problems and a lack of air support in the vast region.
Konare said last month that peacekeepers were now being targeted as part of a "new phenomenon" in the troubled region.
More sophisticated equipment, including forward-looking infrared technology, would help end that problem and enable peacekeepers conduct 24-hour operations.
Ba said: "Our forces go on missions and when night falls it disrupts our mission. Armed groups would take advantage of that. So this equipment is vital."
- SAPA