UNITED NATIONS, 17 April 2007 — Sudan cleared the way for a United Nations support package for an African Union force struggling to maintain peace in Darfur when it agreed yesterday to accept UN attack helicopters as part of the plan.
The package will mean the deployment of 3,000 UN police and military personnel to bolster the AU force of 7,000 in the violence-torn western region.
Khartoum had balked at the inclusion of six attack helicopters in the package, fearful they could be used for offensive purposes despite UN assurances they would be there to protect the peacekeepers. But yesterday, Sudan officially told the United Nations it would accept the helicopters.
In a letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Ambassador Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem said, “I am pleased, upon instructions from my government, to convey to Your Excellency Sudan’s approval of the helicopter component.” “It is the sincere hope of Sudan that implementation of the heavy support package would proceed expeditiously,” he said, referring to phase two of a three-phase plan that would ultimately involve more than 20,000 UN troops and police.
The AU forces have been unable to stem the killing in Darfur and are increasingly under attack themselves. Sudan had already allowed phase one of the plan, a light support package of equipment, police, civilian staff and advisers.
Earlier yesterday, Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol said in Khartoum that by accepting the helicopters, Sudan had fulfilled commitments it made to the United Nations during talks in Addis Ababa in November. “I can now say that Sudan has given its complete agreement to all that was discussed in Addis Ababa, and as such the path is open to the next steps, so that we can say that we have overcome the issue of peacekeepers in Darfur,” Akol said.
