US, Britain move to get UN troops into Darfur

UNITED NATIONS – The United States wants the Security Council to approve a UN peacekeeping force for Sudan’s violent Darfur region where fighting, rape and murder persist, a US official said on Wednesday.

“What we hope to accomplish in February is the decision by the UN Security Council, which would include the nature of the mission and issues of the size of the mission, implementation,” Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick told reporters in Washington. At the United Nations, the United States and Britain were drafting a Security Council statement for approval next week that would ask UN officials to draft plans for a Darfur force as a first step, council envoys said.But the diplomats did not expect council authorisºation this month when US Ambassador John Bolton holds the rotating presidency of the 15-member body.The African Union, which has some 7 000 troops spread thin over an area the size of France, has not yet agreed to join or turn over its mission to the United Nations.Nor has Khartoum given its consent.Others, like China, which has large oil interests in Sudan, would probably call for a UN force only if the African Union and Khartoum approves, the envoys said.While UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that UN peacekeepers in Darfur are “now inevitable,” the steps to integrate the African Union force in Darfur with UN troops would take at least six months, UN officials said.Jean-Marie Guehenno, the undersecretary-general for peacekeeping, has already started planning but needs a firm decision from the 15-member council before recruiting any troops.A US-British statement, if approved, is the first step toward a UN operation.No one knows who would join such a force, with Annan hoping Western nations, including the United States and Europeans, would help with an aggressive mobile force and air power.- Nampa-ReutersAt the United Nations, the United States and Britain were drafting a Security Council statement for approval next week that would ask UN officials to draft plans for a Darfur force as a first step, council envoys said.But the diplomats did not expect council authorisºation this month when US Ambassador John Bolton holds the rotating presidency of the 15-member body.The African Union, which has some 7 000 troops spread thin over an area the size of France, has not yet agreed to join or turn over its mission to the United Nations.Nor has Khartoum given its consent.Others, like China, which has large oil interests in Sudan, would probably call for a UN force only if the African Union and Khartoum approves, the envoys said.While UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that UN peacekeepers in Darfur are “now inevitable,” the steps to integrate the African Union force in Darfur with UN troops would take at least six months, UN officials said.Jean-Marie Guehenno, the undersecretary-general for peacekeeping, has already started planning but needs a firm decision from the 15-member council before recruiting any troops.A US-British statement, if approved, is the first step toward a UN operation.No one knows who would join such a force, with Annan hoping Western nations, including the United States and Europeans, would help with an aggressive mobile force and air power.- Nampa-Reuters