August 1, 2007

A powerful signal

The United Nations promises to send a large peacekeeping force to Sudan

By Nellie Gonzalez Cutler

After battling four years of bloodshed, the people of the Darfur region of Sudan, in Africa, received some good news this week. On Tuesday the United Nations Security Council agreed to send some 26,000 peacekeepers to the troubled region. The force would be the world's largest peacekeeping operation. "You are sending a clear and powerful signal of your commitment to improve the lives of the people of the region and close this tragic chapter in Sudan's history," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Security Council members.

STUART PRICE—AFP/GETTY IMAGES At an African Union mission site in Sudan, patients wait to be seen by a doctor.

The U.N. said the peacekeeping force, called UNAMID, would be in Sudan by the end of the year. It will be made up of military personnel, civilians and police units and will include an African Union force of about 7,000 soldiers that is already working to calm the region. The African Union force did not have the resources to stop the violence.

Four years of terror

The fighting in Darfur began in 2003, when Sudan's black Africans rebelled against the mostly Arab government of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The Africans felt the government discriminated against them. To gain control, al-Bashir called on local tribes to crush the rebellion. That's when Arab bandits, called Janjaweed, began attacking African farmers.

Since then, more than 200,000 people have been killed, and some 2.5 million have been driven from their homes. World leaders have described the situation in Darfur as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. The U.N and Sudan's government have hammered out several peace agreements. But Sudan's government has repeatedly broken the agreements.

The capacity to react quickly

After weeks of talks and negotiations, the Security Council unanimously approved the resolution to send the peacekeepers. The council is made up of five permanent members--China, Britain, France, Russia and the United States--and 10 non-permanent members. China is a strong supporter of Sudan's government because it exports most of its oil from Sudan. China and Sudan insisted that some tough language be removed from the resolution before agreeing to it. "The Sudanese government is committed to implementing its part of the resolution," says Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol.

It is expected that UNAMID will be made up mostly of peacekeepers from Africa, which Sudan demanded. On Wednesday, France, Denmark and Indonesia offered to contribute to the mission. U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno said that UNAMID would have military transport and combat helicopters at its disposal. "If something happens somewhere in Darfur, there's a capacity to react quickly and decisively, and that's going to be one of our top priorities," he says.

Back to all headlines