Joint Special Representative of the United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) for Darfur, Rodolphe Adada, Sunday expressed his satisfaction with performance of the Chinese peacekeepers in Sudan's western region Darfur, saying that they had created a miracle.
Adada, former foreign minister of the Republic of Congo, made his comment after a meeting with visiting Chinese government's special representative for Darfur Liu Guijin, during which the two envoys exchanged views on the Darfur situation, the deployment of the hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping forces, the political process and the role of China in helping solve the Darfur issue.
Adada told Xinhua that he was surprised to see changes every time when he made inspections to the Chinese engineering unit in Darfur. "I went there three times and the latest visit was last week. Every time it is changing there," he noted.
On November 24 of 2007, the first batch of a 135-strong Chinese engineering unit arrived in Darfur and they were joined by five officers who had been there three months ago to receive the equipment for the Chinese peacekeeping force.
"The first time I was there to welcome their arrival in (South Darfur State capital) Niyala and say Ni Hao (hello) to them. At that time, they have to live temporarily in a transitional camp before the camp of the Chinese unit is set up," said Adada.
And the second time when Adada was there, Chinese engineering peacekeepers had begun to work on their permanent camp.
"Last week when I was there, they are about to move into their camp. It is like a miracle because they made changes from nothing in a few days," Adada said.
The 140 Chinese engineering peacekeepers were doing very well, he said, adding that they were building camps not only for themselves, but for the rest of the peacekeeping troops.
The mission carried out by Chinese engineers is very important because the UN-AU Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) should have accommodation if the UNAMID wants to deploy peacekeeping forces, Adada said.
The 140-member engineering unit from China, which pledges to eventually send a 315-member unit to Darfur, was the first batch of UN peacekeepers in Darfur to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1769 adopted on July 31 of 2007, which authorizes the deployment of a 26,000-strong hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur.
The hybrid peacekeeping operation, which is well-known as the UNAMID, will be the largest peacekeeping operation for the international organization around the world. The UNAMID is mandated to protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian assistance and help provide a secure environment in Darfur.
Liu, who started his four-day tour in Sudan early Sunday after visiting Britain, is visiting Sudan a fourth time since his appointment on May 10 of 2007.
Liu, a 62-year-old veteran diplomat and former ambassador to Zimbabwe and South Africa, has been engaged in African affairs for more than 25 years.
Since resuming his current post, Liu had paid three visits to Darfur and shuttled between the United States, Britain, Egypt and other countries concerned, making unremitting efforts to resolving the Darfur issue.
(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2008)
