Sudan peace deal sparks clashes
2006-08-07 14:13
El Fasher - A May deal that was supposed to help end the conflict in Darfur has instead sparked months of fighting between rival rebel factions, according to aid groups, the United Nations and beleaguered African Union peacekeepers.
Fresh clashes had left countless dead in the last two months and displaced nearly 50 000 people.
This in a region, where more than two million had already fled their homes and one million more relied on food aid because their fields had been razed or they're too afraid to go out to farm.
More than 200 000 people had been killed in Darfur since ethnic African tribes rose in revolt against the Arab-led Khartoum government in early 2003.
May 05 peace accord signed in Nigeria
Alun McDonald of the British charity, Oxfam, in Sudan, said the May 05 peace accord signed in Nigeria was initially hailed as a breakthrough, but since then "it's gotten a lot worse on every level".
His grim assessment on Sunday was echoed by United Nations officials as well as Baba Gana Kingibe, a Nigerian who headed the undermanned, under-equipped AU peacekeeping mission.
Kingibe said that security in Darfur "is plummeting. It's gone downhill".
Even before the recent deterioration, the AU had wanted to hand over to a bigger and more robust UN mission, a move Sudan President Omar al-Bashir staunchly opposed.
Kingibe said his force needed to be doubled and better equipped - not only with vehicles, fuel and forces, but with better arms to compete against rebels' superior firepower.
The African troops had automatic rifles and heavier guns mounted on armored vehicles, but no rockets, mortars or artillery.
Funding 'also an issue'
Kingibe said that because Darfur was vast, he needed air power to patrol, but the force only had 24 unarmed helicopters and four fixed-wing aircraft that mainly carried out administrative tasks like ferrying food supplies to the mission.
Funding was also an issue. Peacekeepers hadn't been paid since June. The mission's $24m monthly bill was footed largely by the European Union. Handing over the mission to the UN control would spread costs among its member states.
The overall leader of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army led by Minni Minnawi signed the Darfur Peace Agreement in May, but a breakaway Sudan Liberation Army faction and the Justice and Equality Movement rejected the deal, arguing it didn't go far enough to meet their demands.
Since then, rebel groups had splintered even further, giving birth to new factions with names like the National Redemption Front and G-19.
One aid worker said Abdelwahid Elnur, who led the rejectionist faction of the Sudan Liberation Army, was reportedly replaced after a meeting of 30 of his commanders.
Kingibe said Minnawi's forces had been pushed out of much of their territory in North Darfur by G-19 and other factions in recent weeks, though Minnawi still controlled swaths of South Darfur.
- AP