The US has warned Sudan that it faces repercussions if it does not cooperate with a the 26,000-strong peacekeeping force for Darfur agreed by the UN Security Council yesterday to try to help end the bloodshed in the region.
The force - the first joint peacekeeping operation by the African Union and the United Nations - will replace the beleaguered 7,000-strong AU force now in Darfur no later than December 31st.
While the council urged speedy deployment, the bulk of the force is not expected to be on the ground until next year, and the ultimate troop strength depends on the willingness of UN member states to contribute troops, police, logistics and sophisticated military hardware.
If deployed fully, it will be the largest peacekeeping operation in the world.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday's "historic and unprecedented resolution" will send "a clear and powerful signal" of the UN's commitment "to improve the lives of the people of the region and close this tragic chapter in Sudan's history".
But Mr Ban, who has made Darfur a top priority since taking over as UN chief on January 1st, stressed that beefing up the peacekeeping force must be accompanied by a boost in efforts to get all combatants to the peace table and end the conflict which has killed more than 200,000 people and uprooted 2.5 million.
The secretary-general said it is crucial that a meeting of the parties in Arusha, Tanzania, later this week, organised by the top UN and AU political envoys "yield positive results so as to pave the way for negotiations and, ultimately, a peace agreement".
US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad called on Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, to provide "maximum cooperation" in deploying the peacekeepers or face sanctions. "If Sudan does not comply with this resolution, the United States will move for the swift adoption of unilateral and multilateral measures," Mr Khalilzad told the council.
"Now Sudan faces a choice. Sudan can choose the path of cooperation or defiance. ... All eyes are upon Sudan, and we look to its government to do the right thing and pursue the path of peace," he said.
The resolution's approval by a 15-0 vote culminated weeks of negotiations between its main sponsors, Britain and France, and the Sudanese government and its key backers including China, which imports two-thirds of Sudan's oil. The text was watered down several times to remove the threat of sanctions which
Sudan and China opposed, authorisation for the new force to seize or collect arms, and language which Sudan's UN ambassador called "ugly" and "awful".
The Sudanese envoy, Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad, told reporters the government would discuss the resolution, but said it "contained many positive elements, and also it went to considerable extent to satisfy our concerns".
The conflict in Darfur began in February 2003 when ethnic African tribes rebelled against what they consider decades of neglect and discrimination by the Arab-dominated government. Sudan's government is accused of retaliating by unleashing a militia of Arab nomads known as the janjaweed - a charge it denies.
The poorly equipped and underfunded African Union force has been unable to stop the fighting, and neither has the Darfur Peace Agreement, signed a year ago by the government and one rebel group. Other rebel factions called the deal insufficient, and fighting has continued.
The UN and Western governments have pressed Sudan since November to accept a three-stage UN plan for a joint force.
After stalling for months, President Bashir agreed in April to a "heavy support package" to strengthen the AU force, including 3,000 UN troops, police and civilian personnel along with aircraft and other equipment. The resolution calls for its speedy deployment.
The resolution also authorises the much larger 26,000-strong hybrid force, which will be called UNAMID and have "a predominantly African character", as Sudan demanded. The force will include up to 19,555 military personnel, including 360 military observers and liaison officers, a civilian component including up to 3,772 international police, and 19 special police units with up to 2,660 officers.