Sudan limits UN's Darfur role
2007-03-13 10:58
New York - Sudan's president has approved a very limited role for the United Nations in supporting African Union troops in Darfur, objecting to helicopters and reconnaissance aircraft, reducing troop levels, and ruling out international police in towns and government-controlled areas, according to a document obtained on Monday.
President Omar al-Bashir made clear in a letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon circulated on Friday that he did not agree to a UN proposal to send more than 3 000 UN military, police and civilian personnel, along with substantial aviation and logistical assets to beef up the 7 000-strong AU force.
But the 13-page annex to the letter, is a point-by-point response that details the Sudanese government's insistence on maintaining control over the deployment of all international troops and police - and on keeping the UN in a subordinate role to the AU.
The letter and annex focus on the UN's proposed "heavy support" package, which is the second phase of a three-stage UN plan that is supposed to culminate in a 22 000-strong joint UN-AU peacekeeping mission.
The first stage of the UN plan - a "light support" package adding some equipment, military officers and UN police to the AU operation - is nearly complete.
UN spokesperson Michele Montas said the secretary-general wants to discuss al-Bashir's letter with the Security Council on Thursday before commenting.
"There are positive elements in that letter and the secretary-general would like to see, from these positive elements, how far we can go," Montas said.
Three-stage plan
The UN proposed the three-stage plan to deal with the worsening humanitarian situation in Darfur after four years of fighting. The Sudanese government was unwilling to accept a traditional UN peacekeeping force.
The beleaguered AU force wanted the UN to take over because it was unable to respond effectively to the escalating conflict in the vast western region with its limited troops, equipment and infrastructure. But when al-Bashir refused, the UN designed the three-stage plan to give the AU more mobility and additional troops.
Sudan agreed to the three-stage plan at a meeting in November attended by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and it was then endorsed by the AU's Peace and Security Council in late November, but al-Bashir was clearly unhappy with it.
In January, he said the UN troops were not needed because the AU force on the ground could handle the job.
Speaking of what the UN can contribute, he said in the letter, "logistical and technical support is accepted during all phases and at all levels if it is placed under the command of the African Union and if command and control are fully delegated" to the AU force.
- AP