Global Policy Forum

The UN Security Council and the African Union have agreed that a UN force should take over peacekeeping in Sudan's Darfur region, once they have the approval of the Sudanese government. They also agreed Wednesday to quickly reinforce the African troops now on the ground. The decision came Wednesday when a high-level Security Council delegation met with the African Union Commission, the executive body of the 53-member AU.

"In Darfur, we share the same point of view," said commission chairman Alpha Oumar Konare. "We need to hand over the baton to the UN. There is a necessity today to implement the Darfur Peace Agreement." But extra troops are needed, he said.

Optimistic about UN force

"The AU today does not have the resources to be there," Konare said. "We have to be clear about that. We don't have the capacity to face a peacekeeping situation or an extended conflict."

The group was optimistic that Khartoum would agree to a UN force, despite its previous reluctance to accept outside help. Khartoum's agreement was necessary, Korare said, because "Sudan's sovereignty has to be respected. We have to have a dialogue with Sudan. The troops are not coming to start a war with Sudan."

Said Djinnat, commissioner for the AU Peace and Security Council, told the Associated Press he was working to upgrade the 7,000-member UN force so it has the ability to carry out all the requirements of a peace agreement signed May 5 by the Sudanese government and the largest rebel group in Darfur.

NATO supplying support

Djinnat said several battalions are likely to be added to the AU force over the next few months. "I can tell you that it could be raised to the level of 10,000," he told AP. The additional troops would likely come from Rwanda, Nigeria and Ghana. NATO would likely provide helicopters and other logistical support, while the AU police force in Darfur will also likely be doubled to 2,000.

The next step is the arrival Friday in Khartoum of a joint UN-AU team that will hold talks with the Sudanese government next week and then head to Darfur to make a technical assessment for a possible UN peacekeeping mission. The team will then report back to the Sudanese government and its own leaders.

Britain's UN ambassador, Emyr Jones Parry, head of the Security Council delegation, said the Security Council and the AU agree that the "transition should take place, and that by the beginning of next year there should be a United Nations operation, and it should do so recognizing that it will need to have a strong African character."

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