/ 13 September 2007

SA pushes for UN-AU troops on ground in Darfur

South Africa is using its seat on the United Nations Security Council to push for troops from a hybrid UN/African Union peacekeeping force to be on the ground in the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur by next month.

South Africa will use its position at the UN to ”insist” on some troops from the force — to be known as Unamid — being deployed by October, ambassador George Nene, permanent representative to the office of the UN, said in Pretoria.

”As it can sometimes take anything between six and 12 months for a UN peacekeeping force to deploy … we are happy that there is already progress in the preparations for the deployment,” he said.

The UN has approved the deployment of a 26 000-strong peacekeeping force for Darfur, where a four-year-old conflict has claimed more than 300 000 lives and displaced 2,5-million people.

The so-called hybrid force, which will be composed mainly of African troops, is scheduled for deployment in the war-torn Sudanese region by the end of the year.

South Africa has yet to confirm how many troops it will be contributing to the mission. About 600 South African troops are already deployed in Darfur as part of an 8 000-strong, underfunded AU force.

”South Africa has a positive attitude toward contributing troops to the hybrid force,” Nene said.

More than 200 000 people have been killed and about 2,5-million displaced in the four-year conflict in Darfur, an area the size of France.

Sudan is charged with arming militias to crush a rebel movement in Darfur, which rose up against the Islamist government in Khartoum over the distribution of resources. — Sapa-dpa