David
Mozersky, Horn of
Africa director for
International Crisis Group, and Laura
Sitea, political affairs officer, Office of Operations, United Nations Department of
Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), joined us for a discussion of the joint
UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur. Peacekeepers came under fire from Sudanese
government forces just one week after the UN took control over the mission from
the African Union. The top peacekeeping official at the UN said that obstructionism by the Sudanese government, the
failure of other countries to supply essential transportation equipment, and
continued violence threatened to doom the mission of the freshly deployed
peacekeeping force. The outlook for a political solution to the region’s
problems remains troubled. What is the current situation on the
ground in Darfur? What are the capabilities and gaps of the force that is
being deployed? What are the UN’s plans towards unifying Darfurian rebels and
advancing the political process?
What can the US do to support the mission in Darfur and the EU
mission in Eastern Chad?
