Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Update: Rebels take Military Base

Brede Eschilman

On the ground: Members of the United Resistance Front (URF), an umbrella of five rebel groups, have claimed that they successfully repelled an attack by government forces and seized an army base in north Darfur Tuesday.  Representatives of the Sudanese army have denied the conflict.  Any such confrontation would have broken the cease-fire agreement.

Diplomatically:  And EU mission of 3,700 that was scheduled to deploy in Darfur on the border regions with Chad and the Central African Republic in the middle of November has delayed deployment due to a lack of military helicopters to transport troops.

Tanzania has announced the contribution of 800 troops to the UNAMID peacekeeping force.  The Tanzanian defense minister has stressed that they will refrain from combat when possible and only fire if under attack.

South Africa has urged major world powers, including the United States, the EU, Russia, and China, to contribute military equipment to UNAMID.  South African cabinet will discuss the possibility of providing military equipment, but the deputy defense minister remarked that more capable countries should do their part.