Slow start to fledgling Darfur mission

By Amber Henshaw
BBC News, Darfur

Charles Nelson says locals are hostile to UN and AU forces

Charles Nelson from Nigeria mans the barrier at the joint UN and African Union mission in Geneina, the wild, sandy capital of West Darfur state.

The 25-year-old has been at the base for four months, away from his wife and two young children.

"There is nothing about this place that is good," he says.

"The weather is very rough - the cold is too much here, the heat is too much and the dust is too much.

"We leave our families and friends back home and that is difficult. The people are hostile to us and the mood of the rebels is not encouraging," he adds.

"But it is important for us to be here. The Darfuris are our brothers, they are Africans. It is important to bring peace here."

I cannot protect you for the time being 100%, I can just do up to 40% Unamid's Brigadier-General Keita

It looks like it will be a long road ahead for Mr Nelson and his colleagues.

They are part of the joint UN-AU peacekeeping mission to Darfur which took over from a struggling AU force at the beginning of the year.

The observer mission is hoping to protect civilians who have been caught in the cross-fire over the past five years as rebels have battled it out with government forces and the brutal Janjaweed militia.

New attitude

There are supposed to be 26,000 UN soldiers and police in the region, but three months in and there are still only about 9,000 people on the ground - roughly the same amount of staff the AU mission had when it ended.

The joint mission, known as Unamid, still has a long way to go before it will be fully functional.

As well as staffing problems, there is a lack of equipment and accommodation at the headquarters in Fasher.

Many peacekeepers are still wearing the old green AU hard-hats and driving round in vehicles with the initials of the AU mission, Amis, on the side.

Yet while some things still look the same, the attitude on the bases does seem to be changing.

The AU came under attack from all sides, and as a result the peacekeepers were dejected and rarely ventured out of their compounds in the last few months of the mission.

Despite the difficulties they face, Unamid commander General General Martin Luther Agwai and senior members of his team are focusing on what they can achieve with their limited resources.

They are trying to build up their staff as well as reaching out to the local population in the hope that they do not lose faith in the mission while they are waiting for the much-needed reinforcements.

Hearts and minds

Unamid sector commander in West Darfur, Brigadier-General Balla Keita said he had spent time meeting local leaders.

Unamid commanders are building relationships with local leaders

"I told them, 'Gentlemen, I cannot protect you for the time being 100%, I can just do up to 40%. I will try my best to be present the whole day in your camp all day - in the morning, in the afternoon and at night', and that is what we are doing."

While I was in West Darfur, I went out with Unamid on one of their night patrols, and we visited sheikhs in a camp near to Geneina.

The team of about 20 peacekeepers in two pick-up trucks and armoured personnel carrier met with a positive reaction.

But the night patrol ran into problems - we got stuck in the sand on a couple of occasions and the group managed to get separated.

I had a tense 30-minute wait in the pitch black just kilometres from the border with Chad at a time when tensions between the two countries are running high.

It was a one-off incident, but the chaos on the ground, the lack of communication and the lack of leadership that night was an worrying eye-opener about the huge challenges that lie ahead.