ACTU : Sudan accepts hybrid force for Darfur
Par Multipol le jeudi 14 juin 2007, 01:41 - Sécurité internationale et défense - Lien permanent
Catherine MAIA
After months of talks, threats and negotiations to persuade Khartoum to accept an effective peacekeeping force in Darfur, beset by four years of violence, the Sudanese government has finally agreed on Tuesday 12 June to accept between 17,000 and 19,000 troops and an additional 3,700 police, which both the UN and the African Union (AU) Commission are planning to deploy in Darfur late this year.
The announcement was made up on the conclusion of a two-day in door meeting held among the government of Sudan, UN and AU officials. However Sudan has been refusing in the past to accept the proposed hybrid force, the Addis Ababa meeting helped diplomats to reach this agreement which would be endorsed by the Security Council soon.
The participants discussed the comprehensive clarifications jointly provided by the AU and UN on the hybrid operation in Darfur, as contained in the report of the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the AU Commission on the hybrid operation, in particular its specific recommendations about the mandate and structure of the operation under the AU but with the support of the United Nations, and details on its various components and tasks.
The participants further agreed on the need for an immediate comprehensive ceasefire, accompanied by an inclusive political process, and stressed the need for troops and police contributing countries as well as donors to facilitate the early and successful implementation of the hybrid operation.
For the moment, the United Nations has already specified that African infantry troops would be given priority in the force but, if a sufficient number could not be found, soldiers from other regions would be recruited. U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said however that "if it's conditional (…) that there will be only African troops involved and no non-Africans, that's putting a condition on the acceptance and that would be unacceptable”. "Several of us are of the view that we have to go with additional sanctions" to pressure the government to cooperate on Darfur, where experts estimate 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been made homeless by the conflict, he added.
Other former pacts to resolve the Darfur conflict had failed to come to fruition. Let’s hope this time this operation would contribute significantly to the stabilization of the situation in Darfur in its political, humanitarian and security dimensions.
Commentaires
C'est au moment où le Soudan vient d’accepter le déploiement au Darfour d'une force de sécurité hybride constituée de troupes de l'Union africaine et des Nations Unies, que la France a mis en place le déploiement, depuis le dimanche 17 juin, d'un pont aérien pour venir en aide aux 240 000 réfugiés du Darfour et aux 150 000 déplacés tchadiens dans l'Est du Tchad.
Cette aide logistique française intervient alors que la saison des pluies devrait battre son plein dans à peine quelques semaines, et rendre du même coup les transports particulièrement difficiles, lorsqu’ils ne sont pas impraticables, jusqu'en novembre.
L’initiative de la France en faveur du Darfour, avec ses ramifications au Tchad, devrait prochainement revêtir d’autres formes qui sont encore à l’étude. Paris a notamment suggéré de constituer au Tchad une force de protection des camps, placée sous autorité européenne, avec une forte composante française. Elle serait déployée dans l'Est du pays où ont lieu des violences entre communautés et des attaques en provenance du Soudan voisin.
Reste à examiner comment les différentes initiatives de paix, régionales ou internationales, vont se combiner dans les mois à venir pour être efficaces...