UN won't meet Darfur target
2008-09-18 11:50
New York - Only 13 000 of the 26 000 peacekeepers authorised for conflict-wracked Darfur will be deployed by the end of the year, far below the 80% target, the UN's new peacekeeping chief said on Wednesday.
Alain Le Roy, a French diplomat who just took over the high-profile job of undersecretary-general for peacekeeping, confirmed a report by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon late last month that it will take many more months to get the joint UN-AU force on the ground.
The UN-AU force took over peacekeeping duties in Darfur in January from a beleaguered 7 000-strong AU force. As of July 31, it had just over 8 100 military personnel and fewer than 1 900 police on the ground, out of a total of 26 000 that have been authorised.
Nigerian General Martin Agwai, the commander of the peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, said in June that he expected the force to grow to 13 000 in three or four months. He expressed optimism that 80% of the force could be deployed by year's end - and so did Ban.
But at his first news conference on Wednesday, Le Roy said: "I think 80% sadly has been, as far as I know so far, a bit optimistic."
He said he expects an additional 3 000 troops and police to be on the ground by the end of November, primarily from Ethiopia and Egypt.
"But my guess is that the Thai and Nepalese battalions who are due to come will not come by the end of the year," Le Roy said. "They will come a bit later."
Lack of clarity
He cited the "lack of clarity of the answer from the Sudanese authorities in the last month" about the deployment of the contingents from Thailand and Nepal.
"They were prepared, but there was some hesitation so they now have to prepare again and to order all the equipment," Le Roy said. His deputy, Edmond Mulet, added that Thailand now needs new authorisation from Parliament to deploy its contingent.
Asked for a realistic expectation of peacekeepers deployed in Darfur by the end of the year, Le Roy said with 9 900 on the ground now and 3 000 more by the end of November "we'll have ... not far from 13 000," which is about 50% of the force.
Le Roy added that the force also lacks "firm commitments" for attack helicopters, surveillance aircraft and transport helicopters which are essential to make the Darfur mission fully operational.
Ban, in his report in late August, cited other problems in deploying the force including growing insecurity, logistical difficulties, and increasing banditry in Sudan's vast western province. He added that engineering and construction work in camps for the peacekeeper "have not advanced as anticipated".
The Darfur conflict began in early 2003 when ethnic African rebels took up arms against Sudan's Arab-dominated central government, accusing it of discrimination. Many of the worst atrocities in the war have been blamed on the janjaweed militia of Arab nomads allied with the government.
Even when the joint UN-AU force is fully deployed, Ban said the only way to end the fighting that has killed up to 300 000 people and forced 2.5 million to flee their homes will be through political talks and a peace agreement.
- AP