US sees eventual Sudan consent to UN force

United Nations, Aug 31: Sudan may consent to a UN peacekeeping force sooner than expected once the Security Council adopts a resolution authorizing the operation, US Ambassador John Bolton said today.

Despite Khartoum's opposition, the United States and Britain are pushing for a vote tomorrow on a resolution that would augment an African Union force immediately with air, engineering and communications support and authorize a UN operation of up to 22,500 troops and police next year.

The six-page, 2,600-word resolution appears to have gained enough support to pass, despite opposition from Qatar, the only Arab member of the council, which supports Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who had raised strong objections.

''I think there is a chicken and an egg situation here,'' Bolton told reporters. ''Once the resolution is passed, the consent may be forthcoming more rapidly than people think.'' The document makes clear that the UN force cannot be deployed without the agreement of Bashir's government, although diplomats believe Sudan would be in a weak position to oppose UN strengthening of the 7,000-strong African Union force, which is under-financed and on the verge of collapse.

Ghanaian Ambassador Nana Effah-Apenteng, this month's council president, said after closed-door council discussions, that ''all indications are that it will be adopted'' tomorrow.

''But it doesn't mean we are shutting the door to negotiations with the Government of Sudan,'' he said.

However, he said, ''This council also has certain responsibilities that it has to live up to.'' SEPT 8 MEETING Effah-Apenteng, whose country has troops with the African Union in Darfur and supports a UN force, said the council was inviting high-level officials from Sudan, the Arab League and the Islamic Conference to a meeting on Sept. 8. Sudan had boycotted a similar council invitation on Monday.

The Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003, when non-Arab rebels took up arms against the government, claiming the region was being marginalised. In response, the government mobilised Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, who have been accused of murder, rape and looting in an ethnic cleansing campaign.

The fighting drove some 2.5 million people into squalid camps. In recent months, rebels have split into factions and carried out banditry and atrocities against civilians.

The United Nations has some 10,000 troops, mainly from Asia, in southern Sudan to monitor a peace agreement there and is expected initially to move some units to Darfur, along with contingents of African soldiers in the region now.

The Arab League would like a delay in adopting the resolution, which is aimed at putting pressure on Sudan as well as allowing the United Nations to assemble a force.

But Bolton said, ''Each day that you delay adopting the resolution is a day that pushes out the planning and logistical work that has to take place.'' The latest draft gives wide latitude to a UN operation to use force to protect UN personnel, humanitarian workers and to prevent attacks against civilians. The troops are also to collect and dispose of unauthorized weapons.

The document also sets up political, humanitarian, military and civilian police liaison officers in neighboring Chad, where Sudan refugees had fled and villagers along the Sudanese border have been evicted from their homes.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is to report to the Security Council on how civilians can be protected in camps on the Chadian side of the Darfur border.

Reuters