Sudan agrees to let U.N. force in Darfur

[KamaAina]

Source: AP

UNITED NATIONS - Sudan agreed Monday to let 3,000 U.N. peacekeepers deploy in Darfur with attack helicopters, opening the door to the first significant U.N. force to help beleaguered African Union soldiers who have been unable to halt the region's four-year war.

After five months of stalling, the government in Khartoum called for a speedy deployment and hinted it could approve an even larger U.N. force that has been demanded by the U.N. Security Council, the United States and others....

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, whose Arab-dominated government has been accused of aiding Arab militias fighting ethnic blacks in Darfur, had long opposed a U.N. force to help the weakly armed 7,000-soldier African Union peacekeeping mission.

But he came under increasing pressure from the U.S., the European Union, some Arab and African countries and most recently China, which buys two-thirds of Sudan's oil exports and sells Khartoum weapons and military aircraft.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070416/ap_on_re_af/sudan_darfur

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Finally! Let's hope there are still people alive when they get there.

How bad is your human rights record when China gets on your case?!

[applegrove]

1. With attack helicopters!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! That will keep

the genocidal gangs from leaving their filthy nests. This is good news.

[seriousstan]

2. Let the UN raping of young girls begin.

[lyonn]

3. We can only hope this will give real relief to those that are victims

in this insanity. China, Arabs, oil, guns - what an equation. And it has taken this long to force Sudan to accept the U.N.?

[Igel]

4. Sudan's great Eastern Protector was in the way.

The Protector has moved out of the way.

Things haven't gone uniformly Sudan's way in the West, and there are suggestions perhaps an alliance would be struck between the non-Arab Fur and some marginalized Arabs that would both undercut political support at home and make things go even less Bashir's way.

Bashir has however long it takes to get the UN force organized--seldom a trivial thing--and can always back out.

[Eugene]

5. US, UK urge Sudan to agree to bigger Darfur force

Source: Reuters

US, UK urge Sudan to agree to bigger Darfur force
17 Apr 2007 16:13:23 GMT
Source: Reuters

By Stephanie Hancock

N'DJAMENA, April 17 (Reuters) - The United States and Britain
pressed Sudan on Tuesday to allow a bigger, more muscular U.N.
peacekeeping force into Darfur, saying Khartoum was not doing
enough to bring peace to the violence-torn region.

Underlining the scale of the strife, a rebel group accused
Khartoum's troops and militia of killing scores of people in a
cluster of north Darfur villages -- though the army denied the
charge and blamed the fighting on "normal" tribal clashes.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said in Chad
that while Sudan's acceptance of an interim U.N. reinforcement
of the African Union force in Darfur was "important", many
more peacekeepers were needed for a total contingent of up
to 20,000.

In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair also criticised
Sudan's resistance to a bigger U.N. force, saying pressure
must be put on Khartoum to make it "understand its
responsibilities."

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L17638049.htm

[Lurking Dem]

6. Yes!

Let us hope this bears fruit.