The United States administration backs sending up to several hundred Nato advisers to support African Union peacekeepers protect villagers in Sudan’s Darfur region, The Washington Post reported in its Monday edition.
Citing unnamed administration officials, the newspaper said the move would include some US troops and mark a significant expansion of US and allied involvement in the conflict.
So far, Nato’s role has been limited to airlifting African Union forces to the region and providing a few military specialists to help the peacekeeping contingent.
The proposal, which still faces uncertain approval within Nato because of concerns that it could be a distraction from operations in Afghanistan, falls well short of more aggressive measures that some have advocated, such as sending ground combat troops or providing air patrols to protect peacekeepers and prevent the bombing of villages, the report said.
These options have been ruled out as unnecessary at this time, The Post said.
US officials said their aim has been to address shortcomings in the African Union force without upstaging it and stirring resentment in a region highly sensitive to the presence of Western troops, according to the report.
Plans under consideration envision fewer than 500 Nato advisers, the paper said.
They would be assigned to African Union headquarters units and assist in logistics, communications, intelligence and command and control activities, not engage directly in field operations.
The likely number of US advisers has yet to be determined, The Post said. – AFP
