US special envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios is due to meet Sudanese
President Omer al-Bashir over the deployment of an international
force in Darfur on Wednesday, the State Department said on
Monday.
The meeting between Natsios and al-Bashir will "focus on the
importance of getting in this AU/UN hybrid force. I think the
Sudanese government understands full well that it is well past
due," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
"We would encourage them (Sudanese) to act on their acceptance
of the hybrid AU/UN force. There are actions that they need to
take, there are actions the UN need to take," McCormack said.
In late August 2006, the United Nations Security Council adopted
a resolution which calls for the deployment of up to 20,000 UN
peacekeepers to replace the ill-equipped African Union contingent
in Darfur.
Khartoum was adamantly opposed to the UN deployment in Darfur
but under intense international pressure, the Sudanese government
voiced its readiness to implement the three-phase UN peace plan for
Darfur including deployment of a joint UN-AU force there.
The United Nations was reportedly to deploy a hybrid UN-AU
peacekeeping force in Darfur, made up of 17,000 troops and 3,000
police officers, compared to the current strength of just 7,000
ofAU force in Darfur to monitor an area roughly the size of
France.
Tens of thousands have been killed and more than two million
forced from their homes by the fighting and a widespread campaign
of rape, killing and burning in non-Arab villages since the Darfur
revolt began in early 2003.
(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2007)
