AMIS African troops in Darfur cost GBP 10 million a month

According to an article in today's Guardian by diplomatic editor Ewen MacAskill, the African mission in Darfur (AMIS) costs ten million pounds a month:

"The UN said it wanted the US and European countries to help form a tough mobile force. But this has met with resistance so far in Washington and Europe and the preference is for a largely African force.

The AU, at its summit in Khartoum last week, exasperated western diplomats by failing to discuss in any detail the Darfur crisis. But it did agree a resolution supporting the take-over of the force by the UN. The AU said it was struggling to find the 10m a month needed to maintain it."

Imagine, if all the money used for Darfur aid and peacekeeping over the past three years had been spent on building water pumps, schools and roads in Darfur. By continuing to murder while refusing to reach a peace agreement, uneducated and unemployed gun toting men are making a living from ruining the Sudan, failing its children while getting away with rape and murder. What a waste. It's a crime against humanity.