Ethiopia, Bangladesh Offer Helicopters to UN Force in Darfur

Ethiopia and Bangladesh have offered to jump-start the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur by loaning it helicopters to fly troops and supplies around the vast region in western Sudan, officials said on Tuesday.

Ethiopia promised the use of three attack and two transport helicopters, while Bangladesh’s offer is less clear, said Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador to the UN.

“On helicopters, there is some progress,” he told reporters. “We’re trying to get to the bottom of what the offer is and what help they might need.”

Also on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he obtained commitments from Sudan President Omar al-Bashir to facilitate the deployment of the joint African Union-UN force.

The announcement followed weeks of frustration for Ban and other diplomats who have struggled to overcome Sudan’s objections to the peacekeeping mission.

Ban and other UN officials had repeatedly said they were unable to persuade any country to offer even a single helicopter, an essential tool for navigating the broad desert area. The choppers are also needed to protect the peacekeepers from attacks.

Ban said more such offers are urgently needed to help quell the violence in Darfur where ethnic African groups rebelled against the Arab-dominated national government in early 2003. More than 200,000 people have died in five years of fighting.

“We need our forces in the theater of operations as soon as possible,” Ban told reporters after briefing the UN Security Council on his latest efforts in Sudan, Chad and Kenya.

He said the offer of helicopters from the two nations was just a starting point and more help is urgently needed to quell violence in Darfur.

Source African Press Agency

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