AU to reinforce Darfur peacekeeping mission

The African Union plans to send more troops into Sudan to reinforce its extended peacekeeping mission in war-ravaged Darfur.

The African Union plans to send more troops into Sudan to reinforce its extended peacekeeping mission in war-ravaged Darfur.

The move came as international pressure on Sudan rises to allow a robust force of 20,000 UN troops into Darfur to replace the 7,000 poorly funded African Union troops tasked with monitoring a battered ceasefire.

"It will be a matter of battalions. I cannot specify how many battalions we are going to bring, but we are going to increase the number of troops," an AU spokesman said. A battalion is usually composed of 600 to 800 soldiers.

He said a troop increase was needed to handle additional responsibilities since the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement in May between the government and one rebel faction.

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Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern last night warned the Sudanese government in advance of his expected meeting with Sudan's foreign minister, Lam Akol, at the United Nations General Assembly tomorrow.

Mr Ahern said that if the government in Khartoum refused to allow deployment of UN troops in Darfur, its members would be held collectively and individually responsible for the fate of the people of that region.

""The Government firmly believes that the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission is now essential if there is to be any prospect of improving security and promoting a political settlement in Darfur," Mr Ahern said.

"It is regrettable that the Sudanese government continues to oppose the deployment of such a force, which was originally called for and is fully supported by the African Union."

An estimated 200,000 people have died in Darfur since violence flared in 2003, and 2.5 million have been displaced in the fighting between government forces, rebels and militias.

The African Union's mandate in Darfur had been set to expire on September 30th, and the pan-African body had said it could not continue beyond October because it was out of money and needed more equipment such as helicopters.

With aid experts predicting a new humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur if African troops withdrew, the AU agreed last week to extend its mission until December 31st, with logistical and material support from the United Nations and funding from Arab states.