WORLD / Africa
UN approves troops, police for Darfur
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-08-01 04:03
UNITED NATIONS -- The UN Security Council authorized on Tuesday up to
26,000 troops and police for Darfur in an effort to protect civilians and
quell violence in Sudan's vast arid western region.
Expected to cost more than $2 billion in the first year, the combined
United Nations-African Union operation aims to quell violence in Darfur,
where more than 2.1 million people have been driven into camps and an
estimated 200,000 have died over the last four years.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the resolution as "historic"
and urged member states to offer "capable" troops quickly.
The resolution, number 1769, invokes Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, under
which the United Nations can authorize force. The measure allows the use
of force to be used for self defense, to ensure the free movement of
humanitarian workers and to protect civilians under attack.
But the resolution, which has been watered down several times, no longer
allows the new force to seize and dispose of illegal arms. Now they can
only monitor such weapons.
Gone also is a threat of future sanctions, but British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown warned on Tuesday that "if any party blocks progress and the
killings continue, I and others will redouble our efforts to impose
further sanctions."
"The plan for Darfur from now on is to achieve a cease-fire, including an
end to aerial bombings of civilians; drive forward peace talks ... and,
as peace is established, offer to begin to invest in recovery and
reconstruction," he said on a visit to the United Nations.
Britain and France are the main sponsors of the resolution.
Specifically, the text authorizes up to 19,555 military personnel and
6,432 civilian police.
Troops Mostly from Africa
The resolution calls on member states to finalize their contributions to
the new force, called UNAMID or the United Nations-African Union Mission
in Darfur, within 30 days. UNAMID would incorporate the under-equipped
and under-financed 7,000 African Union troops now in Darfur.
Rape, looting, murder and government bombardment drove millions from
their homes in Darfur, where mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early
2003, accusing Khartoum of neglecting their arid region. The rebels have
now split into a dozen groups, many fighting each other.
Sudan, after months of hesitation, has agreed to the troop numbers, but
UN officials expect it will take a year to get the force in place.
Khartoum also has to agree to allow units from individual countries into
Sudan.
Infantry soldiers will be drawn mainly from African nations unless not
enough Africans can be recruited. Personnel from elsewhere in the world
are expected to be used for specialized engineering and in command
headquarters. The United States is restricting its contribution to
transporting troops to Darfur and helping to pay for the operation.
The new headquarters should be running by October 31, and UN members were
urged to cover costs as soon as possible for the under-financed African
Union troops.
The timetable is then staggered so the combined force will be in charge
of all operations by December 31.
The resolution asks Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to report to the
council every 30 days on implementation of the resolution and progress on
a political settlement. The United Nations and the AU are attempting to
organize a peace conference among a myriad of rebel groups and the
government.
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