AP News, August 1st, 2007
Sudan hailed a Security Council resolution to send 26,000 peacekeepers to Darfur as a diplomatic victory, promising Wednesday to uphold the deal since it respects Sudanese sovereignty.
President Omar al-Bashir had resisted for months a push to send U.N. peacekeepers to the western Darfur region, where over 200,000 people have died and 2,5 million been chased from their homes in four years of fighting.
But Sudan agreed in June to a compromise deal for the African Union to deploy jointly with the U.N. in a "hybrid force" to end the violence, which is what the U.N. resolution passed Tuesday provides for.
"The Sudanese government is committed to implementing its part of the resolution," Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol told reporters on Wednesday.
Acceptance of the new mission marked a major turnaround for Khartoum. Al-Bashir said last year he viewed U.N. blue helmets as a neocolonial force and would personally lead the resistance against them if they deployed.
The United Nations had passed a previous resolution last August to send peacekeepers in Darfur, but text had been conditioned to Khartoum's approval and was shelved.
Tuesday's resolution passed by the U.N. won Khartoum's praise after it was watered down to drop the threat of sanctions against Sudan if it fails to accept the force and an authorization for the new force to seize or collect arms. The changes were made in negotiations between Security Council members to avoid a veto by China, Sudan's top diplomatic ally.
"The resolution has responded to many of the Sudanese reservations and concerns," Akol said.
The new peacekeeping force will take over from the beleaguered 7,000-strong AU force now in Darfur no later than Dec. 31, the resolution says. But ultimate troop strength depends on the willingness of U.N. member states to contribute troops, police, logistics and military hardware.
