Sudan accepts UN deployment
Helicopters and more troops to be sent to support African Union force in Darfur.
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Khartoum’s green light came after Ban Ki-Moon, UN secretary general, last week reassured Sudan that the helicopters would only be used for deterrence, not for offensive purposes.
The first two phases of the UN plan mainly involve logistical and technical support, but Sudan has yet to give the go ahead for the final phase which would see thousands of UN troops deployed.
The US official also urged rebel groups to join peace negotiations and Khartoum to comply with a peace accord signed last year by disarming the Janjawid militia which is accused of atrocities in Darfur.
“The government of Sudan must disarm the Janjawid, the Arab militias that we all know could not exist without the Sudanese government’s active support,” he said.
Khartoum has always denied backing the Janjawid, despite accusations by the UN and the AU.
Earlier, the Saudi Press Agency had reported that Sudan had signed an agreement, brokered in Saudi Arabia, on the deployment of African Union (AU) and UN forces in Darfur.
King Abdullah, the Saudi monarch, “received a telephone call from Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir in which he informed him that the Sudanese government has signed an agreement with the UN and the AU that determines the duties and role of the African and UN forces in the Darfur region”, the agency said.