UN chief Ban Ki-moon made a strong appeal Thursday aiming to arm the new UN peacekeeping force for Sudan's Darfur with at least 24 helicopters, warning that the force would be at risk without the helicopters.
"While helicopters alone cannot ensure the success of the mission, their absence may well doom it to failure," Ban said in a letter to Security Council members.
The secretary general wanted the Security Council members to use their influence to transform international concern for Darfur into "tangible provision" of the aircraft.
With only three weeks left before the new 26,000-strong peacekeeping force for Darfur is scheduled to start deploying, the United Nations still failed to get a commitment for even one helicopter.
Ban said the new peacekeeping force would not be "an effective, robust force" without the critically needed 18 transport helicopters and six light tactical helicopters.
Without an effective force, the United Nations could not succeed in bringing the rebel leaders in Sudan's western Darfur region back to negotiations, he added.
A joint force of 26,000 UN and African Union peacekeepers is due to deploy in January to takeover from a beleaguered African force that has been unable to end the violence in the region.
Source: Xinhua
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