After nine months of intense negotiations, the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday agreed on a resolution to send what will become the world's largest peacekeeping force to the Sudanese crisis region Darfur.
The 26,000-strong force will cost an estimated $2 billion in its first year.
The United Nations blue-helmet peacekeeping force (UNAMID) and soldiers from the African Union (AU) member states are expected to replace a poorly armed AU force of 7,000 troops that has been unable to stop the civil war in the region no later than Dec. 31. The conflict has displaced 2.5 million people and claimed the lives of more than 200,000.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described it as a "historic and unprecedented resolution." The resolution was brought to the Security Council by Britain, France, Belgium, the Congo and others.
"You are sending a clear and powerful signal of your commitment to improve the lives of the people of the region and close this tragic chapter in Sudan's history," Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council.
Threat of Sanctions Nixed from Resolution
The decision came after the Sudanese government agreed to allow peacekeepers into the country in June. However, critics noted that under pressure from the Sudanese government, the threat of further sanctions had been removed from the resolution. It also prohibits peacekeepers from seizing and disposing of illegal weapons.
The concessions prompted a stern warning from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. "If any party blocks progress and the killings continue, I and others will redouble our efforts to impose further sanctions."
The Darfur region in western Sudan is roughly the size of France. Over the past four years, government-supported Arab militiamen, the Janjaweed, have fought African rebels and repeatedly attacked the civilian population. Mounted on horses and camels, the Janjaweed have systematically destroyed over a thousand villages, while killing and raping the inhabitants. In February 2003, ethnic African tribes began to rebel against what they considered decades of neglect and discrimination by the Arab-dominated government.
By early Wednesday, the German government had not commented officially on the development. Troops from Germany's army, the Bundeswehr, are currently deployed in Darfur under a mandate that allows for up to 200 troops.
In France, however, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner greeted the Security Council decision, saying it could bring great hope and that it was an important step by the international community to put an end to the human suffering and to bring lasting stability to the region.
dsl/ap/reuters
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