Sudan Drops Objections to U.N. Aid in Darfur by Warren Hoge

[applegrove]

Sudan Drops Objections to U.N. Aid in Darfur
By WARREN HOGE
Published: April 17, 2007
UNITED NATIONS, April 16 — "Sudan said Monday that it had dropped its objections to large-scale United Nations assistance to the overwhelmed African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, setting the stage for the possible assignment there of United Nations peacekeepers.

President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan has repeatedly defied United Nations requests and pressure from governments elsewhere in Africa and around the world to permit international intervention in Darfur, saying such action would violate his country’s sovereignty.

But on Monday, Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad, Sudan’s ambassador to the United Nations, sent a letter to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the 15 member states of the Security Council saying that Sudan would accept what is known as the “heavy support package” and that it hoped that it would “proceed expeditiously.”

The package calls for sending 3,000 well-equipped military police officers along with six attack helicopters and other aviation and logistics support to Darfur. The steps are the second stage of a much delayed three-stage proposal whose ultimate aim is to create a 21,000-member joint African Union-United Nations force to replace the 7,000-member African Union force there now.

........SNIP"

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/world/africa/17nations.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

[Behind the Aegis]

1. FINALLY! May some good come of this!

More importantly, may the killing stop!

[applegrove]

2. It really is big news.

[katty]

3. WAY late, yet, glad it is happening