Agreement Reached on Darfur Peacekeepers
By LES NEUHAUS
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) -- Sudan agreed in principle to a plan that will permit an international force to bolster African troops in Darfur, but almost immediately signaled it will be difficult to progress from an accord to real change in one of the world's bloodiest conflict zones.
Shortly after diplomats reached the agreement in Ethiopia, the Sudanese foreign minister in Khartoum raised objections, insisting the accord entailed the provision of only U.N. technical assistance - not peacekeepers. Sudan has long opposed allowing U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur, saying that would violate its sovereignty.
The force could be as large as 27,000, including the existing 7,000-member AU peacekeeping force in Darfur. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the additional personnel could include as many as 17,000 soldiers and 3,000 police officers.
"There should be no talk about a mixed force. What we are discussing and what is agreed upon, is an African Union force assisted by the United Nations," Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol told the official Radio Omdurman in the first reaction from Khartoum to the agreement initialed in Ethiopia on Thursday night.
Annan said the expansion of the existing force would take place in three phases.
Sudan is expected to present its final views at an AU meeting in the Republic of Congo on Nov. 24, Annan said.
The U.N. Security Council voted in August to replace the AU's 7,000 troops, an underpowered force, with 20,000 U.N. peacekeepers. But Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir refused to allow their deployment, saying they would be "neocolonialists."
The senior British government representative at the meeting, International Development Secretary Hilary Benn, appealed to the Sudanese government to "accept the clear view of all the others present."
Benn called the joint U.N.-AU focus on Sudan "the best opportunity we have to bring this crisis to an end. In the mean time, we need an effective cease-fire, with all the parties committing to stop the fighting."
Annan, who would like to stop the bloodshed in Darfur before he leaves office on Jan. 1., said the U.N. and African Union should meet with the Sudanese government in the coming weeks to "resolve outstanding issues by the end of the year."
The agreement was announced at a meeting in Ethiopia that brought together senior officials from the AU, the Arab League, the European Union, Sudan, the United States, China, Russia, Egypt, France and a half-dozen African countries.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking to reporters traveling with her for a Pacific Rim economic summit, said the proposed compromise offered a chance for Sudan's ostracized leaders to "make right with the international system."
An African Union Peace and Security Council meeting will be held in the Republic of Congo on Nov. 24 during which Sudan is expected to present its final views, Annan said.
In recent days, pro-government militia forces known as janjaweed have stepped up attacks on villages in Darfur, killing dozens of people, international observers said Wednesday. In one raid, janjaweed militiamen - backed by government troops - forced children into a thatched hut, then set it ablaze, killing parents who tried to rescue the children, rebels said.
After years of low-level clashes over water and land in the vast, arid Darfur region, rebels from ethnic African tribes took up arms against Sudan's Arab-dominated central government in 2003. Khartoum is accused of unleashing the janjaweed. The militiamen are accused of many of the atrocities in a conflict that has killed some 200,000 people and chased 2.5 million from their homes.
The conflict has destabilized a wide region that includes parts of neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic. The chaos has been exploited by rebels from Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic, and ethnic violence mirroring attacks in Darfur has been seen in Chad in recent weeks.
The Sudanese army has denied any connection to janjaweed attacks, saying the claims were politically motivated.
The United Nations said Friday it had received reports that as many as 180 people were killed over the past week in parts of Chad bordering Darfur.
The U.N. human rights office in Geneva said the reports describe armed men on horseback attacking, looting and burning several villages in southeastern Chad, forcing hundreds to flee their homes. More than 300 people may have been killed in raids there since Oct. 31, a statement said.
"The testimonies are harrowing, including reports of babies, children, the elderly and infirm being burned alive in their houses because they were unable to flee," said Ron Redmond, spokesman for U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres.
The U.N. humanitarian chief, who was visiting Darfur, said the withdrawal of non-governmental organizations from some areas had left people displaced by the conflict with fewer services and more exposure to violence.
"This is my fourth visit to Darfur, and I have never before seen such a bad security situation," Jan Egeland said from El Geneina, capital of West Darfur. "There are too many armed elements in and around the camps threatening the inhabitants and preventing us from going in."
"Aid workers in West Darfur cannot move on the roads because they are being attacked and their vehicles are being stolen," Egeland said. |
