By Opheera McDoom
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The U.N.-AU peacekeeping force inDarfur risks becoming "the world's latest broken promise"unless it receives more international support and improvessecurity with the troops it has, a group of 50 agencies said.
"Without more support, UNAMID is tragically doomed tofail," the Darfur Coalition spokesman Dismas Nkunda said in the10-page report by Africa-focused agencies released on Monday.
The United Nations-African Union force known as UNAMID tookover on December 31 from struggling African Union peacekeepers,who had largely failed to protect civilians and whom many inDarfur rejected as biased players in the 5-year-old conflict.
UNAMID, which was launched with much optimism after yearsof negotiations with the Sudanese government, currently hasabout 9,000 troops and police in Darfur.
At full strength it will be the world's largest U.N.-fundedpeacekeeping mission with 26,000.
But no new battalions have deployed, no attack or transporthelicopters or other vital equipment have arrived, andcontainers full of UNAMID gear are sitting idle in Sudanesecustoms awaiting clearance.
Meanwhile attacks on the world's largest aid operation haveescalated and banditry is rife even inside the main towns.
The Darfur coalition blamed delays in getting UNAMID fullyoperational on the government of Sudan and donors.
"The international community must urgently ensure that theforce has the equipment and troops it was promised, and theSudanese government must cooperate fully and quickly," thereport said.
"UNAMID is in danger of becoming the world's latest brokenpromise," it added.
International experts estimate some 200,000 people havedied and 2.5 million driven from their homes since mostlynon-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing Khartoum ofneglect.
The report was critical of peacekeepers for failing toprotect civilians from rape and attack with the thousands oftroops already in Darfur.
"UNAMID could do more to prioritise key protectionactivities, and inconsistent interpretation of its mandate hashampered its impact on the ground," it added.
It recommended UNAMID conduct more regular patrolsaccompanying women collecting firewood or along main roads toprevent banditry, set up permanent presence quickly in thecamps, and have more regular contact with Darfuris.
U.N. officials have said UNAMID needs a peace to keep andblame the lack of a political process for the deterioration insecurity.
The International Criminal Court this month sought anarrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for genocideand war crimes in Darfur. Khartoum does not recognise thecourt.
The coalition says Darfuris are running out of patience.
"When the AU soldiers were here they could not protect us.Now it's the same with UNAMID," said I.A. Suleiman in thereport. "We are all living in danger yet we do not even expectthat they can protect us."
While a protection force will not solve the situation inDarfur, failure to provide protection will condemn millions toviolence, the report concluded.
(editing by Mary Gabriel)
