At long last there has been some international action to defuse the crisis in Darfur, which has claimed between 200,000 and 400,000 lives. A further 2.2 million have been forced to flee their homes and 3 million are now dependent on international support. Chad has been in danger of being destabilized by the fighting on and over its border with Sudan.

As so often happens with international crises the breakthrough came about after a number of crucial factors swung into line. The ending of the apartheid in South Africa, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the peace agreement in Northern Ireland all came about in a similar way.

The United Kingdom can take some credit, especially its new Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has had a remarkably successful period in No. 10 Downing Street since he took over from Tony Blair on June 27.

On July 31 the United Nations Security Council endorsed an Anglo-French backed plan for a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur. During a brief visit to the UN headquarters in New York the prime minister told an invited audience it was “time for a change” in Darfur, and he pledged to work hard to get the 26,000 strong force deployed “quickly”.

Shortly after moving in to No. 10 Brown had a meeting with Nicolas Sarkozy, the energetic, controversial and right of center president of France who had volunteered to give a lead to the international community over Darfur. This joint drive on Darfur by the new prime minster of the United Kingdom and the new president of France is most encouraging.

Attention now turns to the practical problems of getting what will be the world’s largest peacekeeping force up and running in Darfur. At the moment there are some 7,000 troops from the African Union in the area. Incredible as it may seem, these troops have not been paid properly. This force is too small and too weak to handle the many problems and vast distances involved.

It was announced on Aug. 13 that African countries have rallied round and hope to supply most of the troops for the UN. A leading demand of the Sudanese government is that the new force should be predominantly African. France and Denmark have offered to supply logistics troops. The United Kingdom may do the same but is seriously overstretched in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some 6,000 international police will also be required.

The only airfield in the region is at El Fasher so new airstrips will have to be built. There is interest in the proposal to drill for water in a possible underground lake that was identified by Boston University from images taken from space. The UN plans to bring in 20 flights a day to supply the peacekeepers with water.

Previous attempts to initiate a UN resolution have foundered on Chinese opposition. China today is a big and important player in Africa. China purchases 65 percent of the oil production of Sudan and sells weapons in return. It has been anxious that Darfur should not upset these arrangements.

However, China has shifted its diplomatic ground. In March a senior Chinese diplomat visited a refugee camp in Darfur, an interesting indication of Beijing’s growing concerns. It is believed that the increasing international criticism of China, and possible complications for the Olympic Games in Beijing, have influenced the Chinese leadership. China is dispatching 275 peacekeepers and has let it be known it might supply more.

Khartoum has also come under growing international pressure. At present the UN maintains an arms embargo on Darfur. There are also travel bans and the freezing of assets applied to four individuals who have been blamed for the massacres. The United Kingdom and the United States are prepared to extend the arms embargo across all the Sudan if they consider Khartoum is failing to cooperate.

Unfortunately while discussions have been going in for a year in New York, the situation in Darfur has gone from bad to worse. People are still being forced to abandon their homes. The attacks on humanitarian workers bringing aid to the refugees have actually increased.

The 26,000 peacekeepers are due to be in position, provided all goes well, by Jan.1, 2008. What is required at once is an effective cease-fire, tied to a firm commitment by all those concerned to stop the attacks on both the refugees and the aid workers. The fighting has become extremely confused and has caught up different feuding rebel groups and also tribes. It has also moved not only into Chad but also into the Central African Republic. Even so, there really are grounds for thinking a new dawn is about to break over Darfur.