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International donors have pledged US$300 million for peacekeeping troops
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-27 20:40

International donors have pledged US$300 million (euro239.56 million) in cash and more in kind to help the African Union expand its peacekeeping mission in Sudan's troubled Darfur, according to preliminary figures provided Friday.

A senior official said US$300 million (euro239.56 million) had been pledged in cash during a donors' conference on Thursday. The AU says it needs US$466 million (euro372.12 million) to more than triple its existing force of 2,270 and to equip it with six helicopter gunships, 116 armored personnel carriers and fuel by September.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the AU was still assessing the value of contributions in kind. NATO and the European Union offered to provide aircraft and crews and training. The AU was expected to announce the total amount later Friday.

The AU operation to stop fighting between rebels on one side and government troops and Arab militias on the other in Darfur is a critical test of international commitment and Africa's resolve to end conflicts in the world's poorest continent, AU Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare said Thursday.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told the donors' conference the world was facing a ``race against time'' to prevent an even larger disaster.

At least 180,000 people have died _ many from hunger and disease _ and about 2 million others have fled their homes in Darfur to escape the conflict.

The AU will consider increasing its force to 12,300 if the situation does not improve, which would require a budget of US$723 million (euro577.34 million), AU officials added.

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