Doubts for UN-AU Darfur force
2008-04-22 22:16
New York - The joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force for Sudan's Darfur strife-torn region is unlikely to be fully operational before next year, the head of the mission told the Security Council on Tuesday.
Rodolphe Adada told the 15-member body that the troop component of the UNAMID mission he leads "is at less than 40% of its mandated level of 19 555 and it is very unlikely to achieve full-operating capability before 2009".
And he warned that the poor state of roads in Darfur and the approaching rainy seasons would make the main supply routes impassable in many areas.
Adada, a former Congolese foreign minister, also said the joint force still lack critical attack and transport helicopters as well as key military engineers and logistical support.
"Our forces are serving under exceptionally difficult conditions," he noted. "I am obliged to report that the obstacles they surmount and the risks they run have not reduced over the last three months."
Adada again appealed to the council "to redouble its efforts" to help UNAMID overcome its current logistical and political obstacles.
He also painted a grim picture of prospects for peace between Khartoum and the fragmented Darfur insurgency.
"Unfortunately, it is commonly understood today in Darfur that peace is not all attractive." the UNAMID chief said.
UNAMID is to total 26 000 members, including around 6 000 police, tasked with protecting the civilian population of a region the size of France which has been mired in civil strife between ethnic minority rebels and the Khartoum government since February 2003.
The United Nations says that at least 200 000 people have died from the combined effects of war, famine and disease and 2.2 million fled their homes while the Sudanese government maintains that 9 000 have been killed.