The Sudanese Government Tuesday announced its acceptance of the proposal for a hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping operation to be deployed to the violence-wracked Darfur region.
The agreement was reached during two days of consultations between the UN, the AU and the Sudanese Government that wrapped up Tuesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
In the conclusions issued, the Sudanese Government said it accepted the joint proposals on a hybrid force “in view of the explanations and clarifications provided by the AU and the UN”, writes UN News Centre.
One of Sudans conditions is that the majority of troops be African which, according to various news media Wednesday, may become a problem, due to a lack of adequate African troops.
Also some issues raised about land, water and deployment still needs to be hammered out with the Sudanese Government, writes UN News Centre.
The UN and AU have outlined two options for the size of the force’s military component: under one plan, there would be 19,555 troops and under the other there would be 17,605 troops. The police component would require 3,772 officers.
The hybrid operation is the third phase of a three-step process to replace the existing but under-resourced AU Mission in the Sudan (AMIS), which has been unable to end the fighting in Darfur.
More than 200,000 people have been killed and at least 2 million others displaced from their homes since clashes erupted in 2003 between Government forces, allied Janjaweed militias and rebel groups.
The UN, AU and Sudan underlined the need for an immediate ceasefire, accompanied by an inclusive political process, as well as for troop-contributing countries and donors to step up and ensure the hybrid force can be implemented quickly.
Also today, a high-level committee comprising representatives of the UN, the Sudanese Government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the European Commission, met in Khartoum to discuss the latest progress on the humanitarian front in Darfur.
The participants welcomed the recent steps taken to streamline customs and immigration problems for aid workers, as well as in the recruitment of international staff and the establishment of a database to monitor implementation of a recent joint communiqué affecting their work.
