Khartoum, Sudan – Sudan said Monday that African Union troops will have to leave Darfur unless they accept a deal within a week that would effectively block a proposed U.N. force.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Kerti said the AU troops, whose formal mandate expires Sept. 30, may remain in the remote, war-torn western region if they accept Arab League and Sudanese funding.
Khartoum last week rejected a U.N. Security Council resolution for the deployment of some 20,000 U.N. troops and police in Darfur to replace the ill-equipped and underfunded 7,000-strong AU force.
Instead, it has launched a major attack reportedly involving thousands of troops and militias in the northern part of Darfur that rebels say are backed up by bomber aircraft.
The African Union has called for the U.N. to take control of the peacekeeping force, but Khartoum is steadfastly opposed to U.N. troops, calling their presence an attempt to impose Western colonial control over the country.
The AU force has been unable to stop the humanitarian disaster in Darfur, where three years of conflict has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 2.4 million.
The conflict in Darfur began in 2003 when ethnic African tribes revolted against the Arab-led Khartoum government. The government is accused of unleashing Arab militiamen known as janjaweed who have been blamed for widespread atrocities.
The United States has described the rapes, killings and other attacks as genocide.
The foreign minister gave the African Union a week to respond to its offer or withdraw its troops from the country, a government statement said.
European Union spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio warned of dire consequences if the African Union is forced to pull out before a U.N. force can take over.
“There would be a very difficult scenario,” Altafaj Tardio said in a telephone interview. “We need a stronger force on the ground to ensure security. It is crucial to reach an agreement with the Sudanese before that deadline.
“There are 2.4 million internally displaced. Those people will never come back to their villages unless they have security.”
Sudan earlier had ordered the African Union troops out by the month’s end after the bloc insisted it would hand over its mandate to the United Nations, but the ultimatum apparently marked a final attempt to keep the weak African force in Darfur.
