Post by Said1 on Aug 22, 2006 11:31:58 GMT -5
Probably just as well, I doubt there's enough blue helmets to go around!
Continued here
Sudan’s Plan for Darfur Involves Its Own Force, Not the U.N.’s
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By LYDIA POLGREEN
Published: August 22, 2006
KHARTOUM, Sudan, Aug. 21 — Sudan’s government has proposed using more than 10,000 of its own troops to quell the violence in the troubled region of Darfur instead of the United Nations peacekeeping force that it has repeatedly refused.
The Sudanese plan was presented to the United Nations Security Council last week, but whether it is a serious blueprint or another tactic in the country’s efforts to stall or thwart a United Nations peacekeeping force remains to be seen.
Sudan’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, has been engaged in an escalating war of words over the proposed United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur, declaring that Sudan would “defeat any forces entering the country just as Hezbollah has defeated the Israeli forces,” according to the state-run news agency, Suna.
Under the plan, the Sudanese government would use the troops to “gain control of the security situation and achieve stability in Darfur” and to “deal with the threats posed by the activities of groups that have rejected the Darfur peace agreement,” which was signed on May 5.
The plan does not explicitly reject a United Nations force, which the United States and others have advocated to secure the shaky peace agreement. But it makes clear that Sudan believes it should be responsible for stabilizing the worsening crisis in Darfur.
“The restoration of stability and the protection of civilians are central responsibilities of the government of the Sudan,” Mr. Bashir wrote in a letter to Kofi Annan, the secretary general of the United Nations.
But the Sudanese proposal, taken with what advisers for the African Union, human rights groups and aid organizations describe as a large buildup of military forces in Darfur, indicates that the government may intend to deal with the escalating crisis in its western provinces by force.
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Article Tools Sponsored By
By LYDIA POLGREEN
Published: August 22, 2006
KHARTOUM, Sudan, Aug. 21 — Sudan’s government has proposed using more than 10,000 of its own troops to quell the violence in the troubled region of Darfur instead of the United Nations peacekeeping force that it has repeatedly refused.
The Sudanese plan was presented to the United Nations Security Council last week, but whether it is a serious blueprint or another tactic in the country’s efforts to stall or thwart a United Nations peacekeeping force remains to be seen.
Sudan’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, has been engaged in an escalating war of words over the proposed United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur, declaring that Sudan would “defeat any forces entering the country just as Hezbollah has defeated the Israeli forces,” according to the state-run news agency, Suna.
Under the plan, the Sudanese government would use the troops to “gain control of the security situation and achieve stability in Darfur” and to “deal with the threats posed by the activities of groups that have rejected the Darfur peace agreement,” which was signed on May 5.
The plan does not explicitly reject a United Nations force, which the United States and others have advocated to secure the shaky peace agreement. But it makes clear that Sudan believes it should be responsible for stabilizing the worsening crisis in Darfur.
“The restoration of stability and the protection of civilians are central responsibilities of the government of the Sudan,” Mr. Bashir wrote in a letter to Kofi Annan, the secretary general of the United Nations.
But the Sudanese proposal, taken with what advisers for the African Union, human rights groups and aid organizations describe as a large buildup of military forces in Darfur, indicates that the government may intend to deal with the escalating crisis in its western provinces by force.
Continued here