President George Bush on Monday authorised the immediate use of United States aircraft to transport supplies to the international peacekeeping force in Darfur, the White House said.
Bush signed a memo saying that aiding the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping troops in Darfur through ”the airlift of equipment for peacekeeping in Darfur” was ”important to the security interests of the United States”.
The US president’s authorisation meant that air support should be provided without delay, given the critical situation in war-torn western Sudan, the White House said.
The struggling AU-UN force, known as Unamid, was authorised in July 2007 by the Security Council to grow into the largest UN peacekeeping force in the world at an estimated strength of 26 000.
However, the United Nations has said only about half of the mission was deployed at the end of 2008, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a report last month that the Darfur force continues to face ”enormous challenges”.
”Violence and displacement continue, humanitarian operations are at risk [and] clashes between the parties occur with regrettable regularity,” Ban said.
Conflict has been raging in the Darfur region in western Sudan since 2003, when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime.
UN officials estimate that up to 300 000 people have died and 2,7-million have been forced to flee their homes. — AFP
