United Nations officials, along with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, have condemned this weekend's attack on African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Darfur. The attack resulted in the deaths of nearly a dozen people.
Ban called the attack as "shocking and brutal" and called "for the perpetrators to be held fully accountable for this outrageous act."
More
The rebel assault on an AU outpost in Darfur was nothing short of a massacre. Hundreds of rebel troops descended on the AU base, attacking the outnumbered peacekeepers from all sides. Ten were killed and possibly dozens of troops were captured.
Yesterday's attack will have and lasting consequences for the prospects of peace in Darfur. The Secretary General's ability to raise troops for the hybrid peacekeeping mission has just become much, much harder. Member states, justifiably be concerned that their troops are merely targets, may be less forthcoming with their contributions. The attack also underscores the fact that there is very little peace to keep in Darfur. Spoilers are determined to keep spoiling -- particularly as rebel groups and pro-government militia try to consolidate their gains ahead of the Libya-sponsored peace talks later this month.
Condemning in the strongest possible terms the recent attack in Haskanita, South Darfur, which killed some 10 African Union (AU) peacekeepers, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for those responsible to be brought to justice for the "outrageous" act. Read more.
The Secretary General writes an op-ed about the complexities facing a peace settlement in Darfur.
I have just returned from a week in Darfur and the surrounding region. I went to listen to the candid views of its people -- Sudanese officials, villagers displaced by fighting, humanitarian aid workers, the leaders of neighboring countries. I came away with a clear understanding. There can be no single solution to this crisis. Darfur is a case study in complexity. If peace is to come, it must take into account all the elements that gave rise to the conflict.For peace in Darfur to take hold a perfect storm of sorts needs to manifest. Financial and diplomatic support must to flow from donor countries; Libya and Chad need to be fully committed to supporting the peace; the government of Sudan needs to become convinced that it has more to gain from peace than continued war; rebel groups need to be convinced that the government of Sudan is approaching the peace talks in good faith; and all the while, the international community cannot afford to ignore the tenuous peace holding in southern Sudan. The conflict in Darfur is so seemingly intractible because absent anyone of these elements, a peace process risks failure.
The Associated Press has an excellent run down of the central challenge facing a political settlement to the Darfur conflict. Many rebel groups are simply refusing to join new UN / AU sponsored peace talks -- and not without reason. Last week, for example, a UN mediator met with the leader one of the main rebel holdouts to persuade him to join the peace talks. Then, two days later, the Sudanese air force bombed his town (violating a ban on offensive military over-flights over Darfur.)
This is the kind of vicious circle that is preventing rebel buy-in for the peace-talks: rebels are refusing to join in peace talks because, not without reason, they believe Khartoum will just violate the agreement anyway. Still, rebel buy-in is essential to any political settlement--and peacekeepers can't really deploy until there is at least some semblance of a peace process underway.
The one positive development in recent weeks is that Libya--which is known to have close ties with some of the rebel groups--is finally beginning to play a constructive role in the conflict. The peace conference scheduled for late October will be held in Tripoli and overseen by Libyan President Muammar Ghaddafi. Libya's newfound cooperation is no accident--the country is trying to pull itself out of international isolation. And sensing the opportunity to make headway on Darfur, Secretary General Ban spent a day in Tripoli last week, meeting with the Libyan leader for hours of one-on-one talks.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on all parties to the conflict in Darfur to create a climate conducive to peace negotiations.
In a statement released in the Libyan capital, where Mr. Ban is wrapping up a three-nation trip that also took him to Sudan and Chad, the Secretary-General set out a series of measures required to address the conflict that has engulfed Darfur since 2003, killing over 200,000 people and driving an additional 2.2 million from their homes.Ban urged all parties "to declare their serious commitment to achieve a political solution to the Darfur crisis; to create a security environment in Darfur conducive to negotiations; to participate in and commit to the outcome of the negotiation effort; and to cease all hostilities immediately." More
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced that fresh peace talks to resolve the conflict in Darfur will start next month in Libya.
"There must be an end to violence and insecurity, a strengthened ceasefire supported by the incoming Hybrid Operation [an AU-UN peacekeeping force to be known as UNAMID], as well as an improvement in the humanitarian situation and greater prospects for development and recovery for the people of Darfur," Ban said.
More
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with just a few of the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur, bringing a message of "hope, peace, security...and water."
Mr. Ban spoke with Rodolphe Adada, the Joint UN-AU Special Representative to Darfur and the head of the current AU mission to the region (known as AMIS), after arriving earlier today in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters. Mr. Adada will then head the hybrid force (UNAMID) once it takes over from AMIS at the end of this year.More
Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, has began a visit to Côte d’Ivoire; she will focus on the follow-up of action plans aimed at releasing children from armed groups and reintegrating them into their communities.
Ms. Coomaraswamy will also examine the issue of sexual violence against children in the aftermath of the conflict in Côte d’Ivoire, which has been split between the Government-controlled south and the Forces Nouvelles-held north since 2002.More