JUST BECAUSE IT NEEDS DOING DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN WE NEED DO IT:

African Union 'Could Help Disarm Sudan' (The Scotsman, 8/23/04)

An African Union force in Sudan’s western Darfur region could help disarm insurgents and pro-government militias accused of killing civilians, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said before the start of AU-sponsored peace talks today between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels.

More than 150 AU troops from Rwanda are currently in Darfur protecting some 80 union monitors observing a largely ignored cease-fire, and another 150 soldiers from Nigeria are expected to arrive in coming weeks.

While the troops’ mandate does not spell out how far they can go to protect targeted civilians, Obasanjo, the current AU chairman, said yesterday that the soldiers and Sudanese government “must work together to garrison the rebels and put them somewhere where their arms can be collected.”

“While that is happening, the government of Sudan must weigh heavily” on Arab militia known as the Janjaweed to disarm, Obasanjo said in an interview broadcast on state television. “The Janjaweed have been ... armed by the government.”

This would be an ideal solution--Africans stopping Africans from killing Africans.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 23, 2004 7:39 AM