|
US gives $100m for Sudan troops
07/03/2008 08:33 - (SA)
New York - The United States has provided $100m to African countries that will send troops to the joint United Nations- African Union peacekeeping mission in Sudan's Darfur region, says the world body.
The US fund was to train and equip soldiers for the UN-African mission in Darfur (UNAMID), whose deployment was severely behind because of a lack of logistics and transport, particularly helicopters. Only about 9 000 of the authorised 30 000 military and civilian personnel of UNAMID had been deployed so far.
The UN said a so-called "friends of UNAMID" group led by the US and Canada met in New York on Thursday to discuss a faster pace of deployment.
The US on Wednesday complained that the UN was dragging its feet in the deployment and was focusing first on obtaining helicopters.
UN 'has become obsessive'
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the first meeting of the "friends of UNAMID" and called on UN members to contribute to the mission. He also thanked the US for the donation to the African nations, which were not named.
"The secretary-general looks forward to sustained and focused international engagement on both peacekeeping and the political process in Darfur and calls on all parties to engage in good faith in the political negotiations in order to bring the current crisis to an end and achieve lasting peace," UN spokesperson Marie Okabe said.
Ban met with the White House envoy for Sudan, Richard Williamson, on Wednesday to discuss the UNAMID deployment. The US diplomat said the UN had become "obsessive" about the helicopter issue.
Williamson said: "Given the instability and the violence going on, it's way past time for talks. We have to have action, including accelerating the deployment of UNAMID."
"The UN cannot let form prevails over substance," Williamson said.
He said peacekeepers deployed in Darfur had already made a "dramatic" impact on curbing violence, particularly sexual violence against women and girls leaving their camps to collect firewood unprotected. He said he had urged those troops to patrol after sunset near camps to protect the civilians.
Sapa-dpa
- SAPA
|
News
