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| The UN hopes to have 80 per cent of the mission in Darfur by the end of the year [AFP] |
The UN Security Council authorised the creation of Unamid in 2007, to police the conflict in the Sudanese region of Darfur between the government, rebels and state-backed militias known as the Janjawid.
The force, set up jointly with the African Union, was to take over from poorly equipped AU troops who were struggling to remain effective in a conflict which the UN says has killed 200,000 people and left two million homeless since 2003.
However, the implementation of the force has been beset by difficulties and been delayed by diplomatic wrangling.
Only about 9,500 troops and police have been deployed out of a planned force of 26,000, partly due to Khartoum's insistence that most of the peacekeepers be Africans.
The latest diplomatic disputes on the renewing of Unamid's mandate hinged on an International Criminal Court indictment of Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president, on charges of genocide.
Helicopter row
Adding to Unamid's difficulties, troop contributing countries have failed to provide badly-needed helicopters and other equipment for the mission.
The mission says it needs 24 transport and attack helicopters to protect civilians adequately.
A report by Darfur campaigners released in July blamed six nations - the Czech Republic, Italy, Romania, Spain, Ukraine and India - for refusing to help supply Unamid with the helicopters.
"Without helicopters, the force's ability to respond quickly to events and fulfil its mandate to protect civilians is severely compromised," said the report by the Save Darfur Coalition.
Despite these difficulties, the UN hopes to have 80 per cent of the mission deployed by the end of 2008.
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