Kigali — Barely days after the government of Sudan agreed on the deployment of United Nations troops in the war-torn Darfur region, President Paul Kagame has called for a quick transfer of the mandate. Addressing a press conference at Village Urugwiro last week, Kagame observed that the current situation demands for a prompt transfer the mandate of the peace keeping mission from the African Union to United Nations to facilitate the successful lobbying process of both troops and logistics.

"It is true that the Sudan government has allowed the deployment of UN troops in Darfur.

However, if the process is to become more proactive and effective, the parties need to sit and agree on how the mandate of overseeing the peace mission can be transferred from AU to UN," he said, adding that if the dialogue to make such a fundamental shift in the Darfur peace mission comes in time it would undoubtedly give a speedy platform for the mobilisation of troops and financial resources from UN contributing member countries.

If the transfer of the mandate delays, Kagame noted, it would be a very difficult situation for the UN to lobby its troop and financial contributing nations especially at this time when the Sudanese government has given the body a nod to intervene in the troubled region following intensive lobbying and pressure.

"I am sure it will not be easy for the UN to persuade contributing nations to offer their troops and finances for peacekeeping in a situation where the AU still holds the mandate.

At this time that the Sudan government has allowed the UN to deploy, key stakeholders should work out a modality where the UN takes over as soon as possible," he said while responding to a question whether the Khartoum government's call for UN troops deployment at a time the body has no ready troops would not make the serving AU troops vulnerable.

Kagame said, however, that the Rwandan government would not hesitate to support any new resolution and action plan made by the key stakeholders that include African Union, United Nations and the Khartoum government in the Darfur peace keeping mission.

"We are ready to support the agreement reached between AU, UN and the Sudanese government," he said.

Dispute resolution

Where Rwanda, as a country that has troops on the ground in Sudan's vast western province where more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million chased from their homes since the conflict began in 2003, feels concerned in the process of creating a new arrangement, the government will make its points known to the AU.

Kagame's remarks come at a time when Sudan has agreed to let 3,000 UN peacekeepers deploy in Darfur with attack helicopters, opening the door to the first significant UN force to help ill-facilitated AU soldiers that have served in the region's four-year war.

After five months of stalling, the government in Khartoum on April 16 called for a speedy deployment and hinted it could approve an even larger UN force that has been demanded by the UN Security Council, the United States and others.

But according to press reports, experts were cautious about chances for creating a 20,000-strong force, noting Sudan's leaders have reversed course previously after announcing vague agreements for action in Darfur.

The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, called Monday's agreement "a very positive sign" and said the UN and the African Union would "move quickly" to put together the 3,000 peacekeepers as well as press for a deal allowing the larger force.

The United Nations has no standing army and Ban is urging UN member states to contribute troops and police quickly for Darfur, but it will likely take months before the UN contingent is on the ground.

Sudan govt accused

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, whose government has been accused of aiding Arab militias fighting ethnic blacks in Darfur, had long opposed a UN force to help the ill-armed 7,000-soldier African Union peacekeeping mission.

However, the country agreed after coming under increasing pressure from the AU and the international community including US, the European Union, some Arab countries and most recently China, which buys two-thirds of Sudan's oil exports and sells Khartoum weapons and military aircraft.

The Darfur war broke out when groups based in black farming communities rebelled, accusing Khartoum of discrimination in favour of nomadic Arab tribes in disputes over land and water. The AU force arrived in 2004 but remains too weak to impose calm, even having a number of its own men killed this month.

Meanwhile, now that the second force has been accepted, UN and AU officials will have to focus on negotiating a third stage of deployment, particularly, creating a joint AU-UN force with 17,000 soldiers and 3,000 police officers.