Sudan approved a new plan for a joint African Union (AU) and UN peacekeeping force for Darfur on Tuesday following two days of high-level technical consultations. Under this new plan, the AU will run the day-to-day operations, while the UN will have overall control of the 17,000 to 19,000 peacekeepers. In announcing the agreement, AU Peace and Security Commissioner Said Djinnit urged the UN Security Council to authorize deployment of the hybrid force as soon as possible.
Sudan has raised some concerns about exit strategy, and it was agreed that the operation will be periodically reviewed. However, it was not stated how often such reviews will take place. There are also concerns over the use of non-African troops. The head of Sudan’s delegation, Mutrif Siddig, stated that the parties had agreed that priority should be given to African troops, but if there are not enough they are willing to take troops from elsewhere.
The UN Security Council is being briefed today on the deal. Some diplomats are fear that there are conditions attached to the deal and it will prove to be yet another pact aimed at resolving the Darfur conflict that will fail to come to fruition. The US ambassador has said that if there are conditions attached, additional sanctions will become necessary.
For more information, please see:
All Africa – Sudan Accepts Hybrid Peacekeeping Force in Darfur – 12 June 2007
Yahoo – UN Council hears hitches on Darfur force deal – June 2007
MSNBC – Sudan accepts joint peacekeepers in Darfur – June 2007
BBC – Sudan accepts joint Darfur force – 12 June 2007
