Sudan delays signing troop deal
2008-02-05 17:20
Khartoum - Sudan delayed the signing of a technical agreement necessary for a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force for its western Darfur region on Tuesday, but said there was no issue with its content.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ali al-Sadig said the deal, originally due to be signed on Wednesday, had been delayed to an unspecified date because Foreign Minister Deng Alor had to travel to Kenya. Alor is to sign on behalf of Khartoum.
"It has nothing to do with the content of the agreement," Sadig said. He said there was not yet a new date.
The SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) outlines operational rules for the largest UN-funded peacekeeping mission in the world ? 26 000 soldiers and police who hope to stem chaotic violence in Darfur that has bled across the border into Chad.
Due to Khartoum's refusal to accept some non-African contingents and other stumbling blocks in the talks, there are just 9 000 troops and police on the ground. Many nations are reluctant to sent soldiers until a SOFA is in place.
Khartoum had wanted to disable the joint mission's communications and ban night flying, as well as rejecting key contingents from Scandinavia, which UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno said threatened the deployment.
But UNAMID spokesperson Noureddine Mezni said the final draft had been agreed between the two sides and they were satisfied with it. The foreign ministry and Mezni declined to give details on whether Khartoum had agreed to drop its conditions.
A European Union force, due to begin deployment in neighbouring eastern Chad to support UNAMID, has been delayed as Chadian rebels attacked the capital N'Djamena trying to oust President Idriss Deby and clashes erupted in the east.
Some 240 000 Darfuri refugees and 180 000 Chadians have fled their homes to arid eastern Chad during Darfur's five year conflict. Mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003, accusing Khartoum of neglect.
Widespread atrocities followed during a brutal counter-insurgency campaign as Khartoum mobilised militias to quell the revolt. International experts estimate some 200 000 have died in Darfur, although Sudan says far fewer.