Sudan cleared the way for the United Nations to boost support for an African Union force struggling to maintain peace in Darfur when it agreed on Monday to accept U.N. attack helicopters as part of the plan. The new support package will mean deployment of 3,000 U.N. police and military personnel to bolster the AU force of 7,000 in the violence-torn western region. But Sudan has not agreed to a proposed larger force of more than 20,000 peacekeepers.
Khartoum had balked at the inclusion of six helicopters, fearful they could be used for offensive purposes despite U.N. assurances they would be there to protect the peacekeepers. But on Monday, Sudan officially told the United Nations it would accept the helicopters. In a letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Ambassador Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem said, "I am pleased, upon instructions from my government, to convey to Your Excellency Sudan's approval of the helicopter component." |