3,000 U.N. Peace Keeper's Allowed in Darfur

The Sudanese government agreed on Monday (after five months of not accepting a resolution) to the deployment of 3,000 U.N. peace keepers, along with six attack helicopters inside the Darfur region.

The U.N. will be headed in to assist the 7,000 African troops already deployed in the desert. This will be a huge step toward helping the humanitarian crisis that is going on in the region. When the troops deploy, it will boost the African forces. Right now, the territory they cover is the size of Texas. The access to the helicopters will be of great use especially in remote areas, that would normally take days to get to, such as villages being burned and people being killed. Instead of troops getting there after the fact, usually two or three days after the attack had occurred, they will be able to stop it right when it starts.

The Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir is still resisting international demands, that he accept another. There are many people worried right now that the Sudan could even roll back on the 3,000 troops.

"Well see whether they've agreed when they actually start to deploy'", the acting U.S. ambassador to the U.N. told reporter's on Tuesday in New York. The U.S., Europe, and the African Union all prefer the troops come from African nations.

The United States has voiced skepticism about Monday's accord, noting Khartoum had reneged on previous agreements to let troops into Darfur.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday that sanctions should be imposed on Khartoum if it decides to back off the deployment. "It is clear that the only thing that will make the Sudanese government understand its responsibilities is pressure".

Omar Al-Bashir over the past months vowed over and over that no U.N. soldier would be allowed to step foot in the war torn region. His acceptance of the 3,000 troops is cause for great optimism in Darfur.
Since February 2003, Bashir's campaign of ethnic and religious persecution has killed more than 400,000 civilians in Darfur, the western portion of the Sudan. They have driven more than two million from their homes. Bashir's army and the Janja-weed have all but stopped the burning down of villages in Darfur. The reason for this is there aren't very many villages left to burn. The attacks now are aimed mostly at the refugee camps. The media has called these actions,"A humanitarian tragedy." We need to continue to pressure Congress and President Bush to continue to do something about the current Genocide taking place. More needs to be done.