The leaders of France and Britain on Friday revived the spectre of sanctions against Khartoum if progress is not made on a Darfur ceasefire and upcoming political talks.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a joint editorial that they would work to deploy by the end of the year a 26 000-strong United Nations-African Union force to replace a struggling AU mission that has failed to stem violence in western Sudan.
The joint editorial in the Times in London said sanctions could be used to bring peace to Darfur.
”It is the combination of a ceasefire, a peacekeeping force, economic reconstruction and the threat of sanctions that can bring a political solution to the region — and we will spare no efforts in making this happen,” the op-ed said.
”We will support all efforts to expedite preparations of the deployment of the AU-UN force … so that it will be operational by the end of this year,” they added.
On Thursday a report from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the force was still short of key aviation, transport and logistic personnel and that Friday’s deadline for commitments from member states would have to be extended.
”Offers are still lacking for some critical military capabilities,” the report said.
It also said the UN wanted a more ”diverse police component” and that some of the mostly African infantry troops offered lacked ”the equipment necessary to implement their required tasks”.
UN officials had said they wanted Western nations to provide the logistics specialists, which had been the Achilles’ heel of the AU force for so long.
Engage in peace
International experts estimate 200 000 people have died with 2,5-million driven from their homes to makeshift camps in Darfur and in neighbouring Chad.
Brown and Sarkozy also urged all rebel groups to attend renewed peace talks due to begin in October. The rebels fractured into more than a dozen factions following an imperfect May 2006 peace deal signed by one of three negotiating factions.
”We urge the government of Sudan and rebel leaders to engage fully and sincerely in this process,” they said.
Sudan has rebuked France for not doing more to push Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) founder Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur into the peace process.
Nur, who lives in France in self-imposed exile, continues to be the only major rebel player to refuse to attend talks. Nur says he wants international troops to secure Darfur ahead of any peace process.
In another blow to the peace process, the rebel Justice and Equality Movement and the SLA-Unity faction attacked an army base in Wad Banda in Kordofan, about 200km east of the border with Darfur.
Rebels say they attacked the base because it was the logistics hub for ongoing attacks and bombing in South Darfur. Sudan’s army denies bombing and says they have no base in Wad Banda and that the rebels attacked and looted the town and a police post.
On Friday the AU, which has declared the South Darfur area of conflict no-go, condemned the rebel attack.
”The African Union … calls on both movements to refrain from further escalating and spreading violence, especially on this dawn of a new era in the international quest for peace, security and stability,” it said in a statement.
The UN said ”the attack could undermine the efforts of the UN and AU … at a time of serious and sensitive consultations to launch the renewed peace talks on Darfur.” — Reuters