UN-AU team arrives in Sudan
2006-06-09 17:56
Khartoum - A joint United Nations and African Union team arrived in Khartoum on Friday, to assess whether the UN can take over peacekeeping operations in the western region of Darfur.
According to the official Sunsa news agency, the team, led by UN under secretary general for peacekeeping operations Jean-Marie Guehenno, would meet officials in Khartoum and then head to the war-torn region.
After its trip to Darfur, the UN-AU team will report back to UN secretary-general Kofi Annan and the AU, said UN officials.
The arrival of the team roughly coincides with a visit to the country by members of the UN security council.
The world body plans to deploy a robust peacekeeping force in Darfur by the end of the year, or the beginning of 2007, to take over from cash-strapped and poorly equipped AU troops.
Civil war and a humanitarian crisis in Darfur have left 180 000 to 300 000 people dead and 2.4 million people displaced since 2003.
A major faction of the main Darfur rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), signed a peace agreement with Khartoum on May 5.
The AU-sponsored deal, signed in the Nigerian capital Abuja, was rejected by a smaller SLM faction and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement.