Darfur needs a force that can do the job

THE UN’s peacekeeping chief’s recent warning that the planned mission for Darfur may not deploy does not come as a surprise.

Jean-Marie Guehenno has said that Sudan’s objections to the make up of the troops, its failure to provide land for the force’s headquarters and proposed curbs on helicopter flights “would make it impossible for the force to operate”.

It is obvious that Sudan does not want a force on the ground that is actually capable of stopping the genocide. Their insistence on African troops means the soldiers will not have the training or support necessary to do the job effectively. The 8,000 African Union troops in the area have been proven completely incapable and there is little reason to believe 26,000 UN-mandated African soldiers will be any better.