UN to help set up AU force

2004-08-05 07:24

United Nations - The United Nations will send a team to Addis Ababa to help the African Union set up a peacekeeping force in the war-ravaged Sudanese province of Darfur, where more than one million people face imminent starvation, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday.

"I have decided to send a team, a UN team, to Addis Ababa, to work with the African Union on its requirements, on its needs, and how to assist with structuring the force, and to determine the exact requirements so that we can then ask capitals for assistance," Annan told reporters.

He said the team would be led by the UN military adviser, Patrick Cammaert.

Earlier, the African Union said it may send a 2 000-strong peacekeeping force to protect observers monitoring a shaky ceasefire and displaced civilians returning to their homes, and suggested the United States could provide logistical support for the force.

Discussed by leaders

Annan said African leaders had discussed the needs of a peacekeeping force last week during a summit in Accra.

"The leaders around the table felt that maybe the 300 troops they were going to send in wouldn't be sufficient, and the numbers would have to be considerably increased," Annan said. "But of course, if the African Union is going to deploy a much larger force, it will need the support of the international community - assistance in command and control, logistics and financial support."

The United Nations has described the situation in Darfur as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The Security Council Friday gave Khartoum 30 days to disarm the pro-government Arab Janjaweed militia accused of committing atrocities against civilians there.

One diplomatic source at the United Nations said that Annan would like to see up to 3 000 troops in the AU force.

Efforts by the AU to bring the warring parties in Darfur to peace talks in Addis Ababa in mid-July failed when the two rebel groups - the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement - refused to take part until the Sudanese government demilitarised Darfur and brought alleged war criminals to book.

Aid agencies meanwhile said the misery of more than one million victims of continuing violence was likely to be worsened by the coming rainy season. - AFP

- SAPA