Sudan urges complete deployment of AU troops to Darfur

An Associated Press report Jan 13 quotes Sudan's foreign minister Moustafa Osman Ismail Thursday as saying his government is awaiting the arrival of more AU troops to monitor a truce in Darfur. Ismail, responding to questions about government military action in Darfur despite a Nov 9 ceasefire, said Khartoum had to do something to protect the civilians.

"If the African troops can't defend the roads and civilians, the government must do that," he said. "We can't leave the rebels to cut the roads that reach (the 5 million civilians in Darfur)."

Ismail said Khartoum is investigating allegations that government planes bombed rebel positions in Sayeh, outside the North Darfur state capital of El Fasher, on Jan 3.

"This is not Sudanese government policy. If we are absolutely sure, the punished will be the officer who carried this out, or his leader who ordered this," Ismail told The Associated Press. "If it has happened, it is a mistake."

Also, he said: "... All this reaffirms the unwavering position of the Sudanese government, because we know that without dealing with the Darfur issue, we will not be able to benefit from the momentum of the peace signing in the south. Therefore, we are concerned to reach peace in Darfur."
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Note, Khartoum argued against ANY troops entering Sudan to help provide security. It set the maximum limit of 3,000 AU soldiers on condition the troops were hamstrung without a full mandate to protect. It is interesting to see a Sudanese offficial quote the number of 5 million civilians in Darfur. Where are all these people and how are they managing? 5 million is roughly the number of people living in London. With regards to the last sentence above, replace the word "momentum" with "development aid" to get at the truth of what Ismail is really saying. As reported here earlier, the massive amount of development aid promised to Sudan by the international community will only be paid out when progress has been made on Darfur, not directly after the signing of the recent peace treaty.