In 2004 the United Nations declared that in Darfur was to be found “the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis.” In 2007 there has, at last, been international progress. But in recent days the confused fighting in Darfur — which over the years has seen between 200,000 and 400,000 people killed and a further 2.2 million forced to flee their homes — has been turning into complete anarchy.
At present 3 million people are dependent on international support, and attacks on the humanitarian workers bringing aid to the refugees have greatly increased. There have been grave warnings that unless the security of these workers can be improved, and quickly, they will be forced to withdraw from the scene. As fighting has increased, people have fled to more remote areas. It has become much harder to find them and help them. It is a really desperate situation.
The Red Cross alone has almost two thousand of its staff in Sudan and it is their largest operation worldwide. It reports:
“With continued fighting whole communities are being caught up in a spiral of destitution leading them to seek refuge in camps — which are already overflowing.” On Sept. 29 the African Union base at the town of Haskanita was attacked fiercely by one of the many militia groups operating in the area. Ten peacekeepers were killed; others fled the scene. This represented the worst attack yet on the African Union 7,000-strong peacekeeping and monitoring force. Government and rebel spokesmen blamed each other for this grim incident.
Within hours of it a Sudan government Antonov aircraft started attacking again the town of Kuma, in Northern Darfur, which is in the hands of rebels opposed to Khartoum rule. There had been a promise of a cease-fire. On Sept. 30 an unusual group, organized by Nelson Mandela who was too frail to be with them, arrived in Darfur for talks with senior members of the Khartoum government, diplomats in the capital and representatives of the many aid agencies. The group included former American President Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, the former archbishop of Cape Town, and Sir Richard Branson, the businessman and publicist.
They had given themselves two main aims. They wanted to ease the deployment of the United Nations 26,000-strong peacekeeping force, which was agreed by the Security Council on July 31. They wanted to get off the ground the peace talks scheduled in a few days in Tripoli. However, some militia factions are suggesting they will not attend those talks unless the United Nations peacekeepers are deployed first.
We should not be too surprised by the attack on the African Union troops — deplorable though it was. They are outgunned by the militias and also the dreaded Janjawid which does the government’s dirty work for it. The African Union force is far too small for the vast size of the area, has not always been paid and is generally too weak for the task it has been given. The militias have been annoyed by the peacekeeping role of the African Union troops, who are there to try to protect the local population.
It was precisely because the African Union force was too weak that the Security Council endorsed an Anglo-French backed plan for a 26,000-strong force to be deployed as quickly as possible to Darfur. The joint drive on the problems of Darfur by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President Nicolas Sarkozy has been excellent. The African Union countries have said they will be able to supply most of the troops for this United Nations and African Union force. This was an important point in its favor for the Sudan government. Demonstrators in Khartoum have seen it as a Western “invasion” force. France and Denmark have offered troops for the new headquarter staff. Since the UN peacekeeping force was agreed there has been mounting concern from the aid agencies that it will take too many months to put in place. They have a good point: There is little to prevent the daily killing and raping at present taking place in Darfur.
The top brass of the UN peacekeepers has warned that it will take time. The troops are coming from many different countries; a new airstrip has to be built and there is a serious problem over water for a force of this size. The appropriate resolution calls for the UN to set up an “initial operational capability for the headquarters” by October and be ready to take over by the end of the year.
However, Marie Guehenno, undersecretary-general for peacekeeping has said:
“We won’t have everything by October. We don’t have a standing army. The expectations on the ground are enormous. We don’t want to disappoint. The 26,000 are not going to be there on January 1.”
What is being organized is the world’s largest peacekeeping operation.
