KHARTOUM, Sudan – US Deputy Secretary of State John Negraponte and Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Ojo Madeukwe discussed today the importance of a rapid deployment of the joint AU-UN peacekeeping force to Sudan’s Darfur region.  The current 7,000 AU force is scheduled to be replaced with a 26,000 UN-AU force sometime next year.   

Meanwhile, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed to the Sudanese government and other members of state to facilitate the deployment. Ban expressed his concern over the increased security incidents and worries that continued delays in deployment could lead to further deterioration in the situation.   

The aim of the joint force is to end the fighting that has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million since ethnic African rebels began fighting the Arab-dominated government in 2003 on accusations of discrimination.  Sudan’s government is accused of retaliating with the use of Arab militias responsible for a large part of the violence, something the government continues to deny. 

For more information, please see:

International Herald Tribune – UN chief worried about continued delay in deployment of Darfur peacekeeping force – 12 November 2007

AFP – US, Nigeria discuss early deployment of hybrid force to Sudan – 12 November 2007

For more information on the Darfur conflict, please see the following Impunity Watch reports: Upcoming Peace Talks in Sudan in Jeopardy; New Atrocities in Darfur; Ceasefire Ends in Sudan; African Union Peacekeepers Attacked in Darfur; Ongoing Conflict in Sudan; ICC Prosecutor Demands Arrests in Sudan; Secretary General Urges Sudan President to Commit to Ceasefire; Peace Talks on Darfur Scheduled for October