United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon warned in a new report on Friday that without adequate air and transport equipment the joint United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur would be severely hampered.
In the report to the Security Council, Ban said the deployment of two mixed UN-AU battalions to shore up the Darfur peacekeeping operation, known as Unamid, was being accelerated.
”For Unamid to be an effective force, with the ability to protect the population of Darfur, we must pursue all means possible to deploy quickly and with the required capabilities,” the UN chief said.
”As a matter of first priority, we are accelerating the deployment of Egyptian and Ethiopian battalions,” he said, adding the next priority will be putting in place units from Nepal and Thailand.
But Ban also said furnishing ”missing aviation and transportation assets” for the Darfur mission was an urgent necessity.
”It is incumbent upon member states to pledge these critical capabilities,” he said.
”The deployment of Unamid without these critical assets will make it a force that lacks the capability to respond to the challenges and complex environment in which it is deployed.”
In a separate statement, Ban’s office said that despite Security Council resolutions since 2004, the conflict in Darfur, western Sudan, continues to cause widespread suffering.
”Four years ago this week, the Security Council first took up the issue of Darfur. The situation remains grim today, as then, if not worse,” it said.
”Continued suffering is both unforgivable and preventable, and the potential for peace and progress is great.”
The statement urged all involved in the conflict ”to immediately focus on what can be achieved by ending the hostilities, protecting civilians and coming to the negotiating table in good faith to secure the peace the Darfuris desperately need now”. — Sapa-AFP