Rice urges expanded NATO role in Darfur

Sofia, Apr 28: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in Sudan's Darfur region was not strong enough and NATO should take on a larger role there.

''Everyone recognises that the AU mission, while it has been successful thus far, is not robust enough to deal with the continued violence in Darfur, and particularly the problems that are emerging in western Darfur,'' she told a news conference at a NATO ministers' meeting in Bulgaria.

The AU's 7,000 poorly equipped troops in Sudan's western province of Darfur have been unable to stop violence in which tens of thousands of people have died and 2 million have fled in the last three years.

Chad's closure of its border with the western Sudan region is threatening food deliveries to 400,000 displaced people, UN officials have said.

NATO already has some officials in Darfur. A larger NATO force would assist in logistics, communications, intelligence and other areas but would not intervene on the ground in Darfur, US officials said.

''NATO is going to discuss what it can do. NATO can provide logistical support, perhaps mobility support,'' Rice said.

The proposed deployment would be an interim measure until a larger UN force, with a broader mandate than the African Union force, can be sent.

There has not been approval from NATO yet and the Sudanese government has objected to a UN force, particularly one that has US or European military personnel.

US officials said that without Sudan's government approval an expanded NATO rule would be impossible.

Sudan is accused of arming the Janjaweed, militias drawn mainly from Arab tribes, to crush a rebellion in Darfur.

Reuters