AU Troops To Stay In Darfur Through 2006
Hector Duarte Jr. - All Headline News Staff Reporter Darfur (AHN) - African Union (AU) troops will stay in Sudan's Darfur region until the end of 2006 to fulfill a United Nations' request. The decision comes as part of a summit agreement. Sudanese leader, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, denied a UN request to allow peacekeepers into Sudan. The AU originally planned to pull its troops out of the region in September. Troops are keeping an eye on a ceasefire after three years of conflict UN Secretary General Kofi Annan says he hopes a UN deployment will take place. Speaking during the AU summit in the Gambian capital of Banjul, Annan labeled the situation in Darfur as one of the worst nightmares in recent history. "On the request of the secretary general, the African Union will continue to fulfill its mission until the end of the year," said Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso, the current AU president. Roughly 7,000 AU troops are now taking part in peacekeeping missions throughout Darfur. Tens of thousands have died during three years of conflict. Most victims were killed by pro-government militias. Western powers are pressuring a UN peacekeeping mission to take over for the African troops, and Annan said he was confident this would eventually happen. The summit ended Sunday. Although rival factions in Darfur signed a partial peace agreement back in May, the situation still remains v |
