UN approves new Darfur peace force
Wednesday, 01 Aug 2007 19:56
Ban Ki-moon and Gordon Brown discussed Darfur today
The United Nations (UN) has voted to send a new peacekeeping force to Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.
After months of diplomatic wrangling security council members yesterday agreed to back a resolution, tabled by Britain and France, approving the use of force to protect civilians caught up in the ongoing bloodshed.
Described by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon as a "historic and unprecedented resolution", the text supports the establishment of what will become the world's largest peacekeeping force.
Approval of the resolution, unanimously backed by security council members, came after Britain's prime minister Gordon Brown called on the international community to take action over the "greatest humanitarian disaster the world faces today".
Mr Brown, speaking at the UN headquarters in New York, said that it was "decision day" for the world and threatened increased sanctions on Sudan if more was not done to halt killings in Darfur.
Over 200,000 people are estimated to have been killed and two million others forced to flee their homes since fighting broke out in the African region in 2003, when rebel groups rose up against the Sudanese government.
Khartoum has denied backing the subsequent use of force by Arab militias against Darfur's black African population in response.
Under the resolution agreed by the UN yesterday almost 20,000 military personnel and more than 6,000 police officers will be deployed in the region as part of a new international peacekeeping force.
The UN-backed force, expected to be up and running by October, will initially incorporate the 7,000-strong African Union force currently serving in Darfur and is expected to replace existing underfunded and poorly equipped troops by the end of the year.
It is estimated that the deployment of the new United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur, which will be known as Unamid, will cost more than £1 billion in the first year.
Welcoming the international community's backing of the peacekeeping force, Mr Ban told security council members: "You are sending a clear and powerful signal of your commitment to improve the lives of the people of the region, and close this tragic chapter in Sudan’s history."
The UN chief also urged countries to contribute troops to the new force and urged the Sudanese government and rebel groups to give it their "unequivocal and continuous support".