EL-FASHER, Sudan - African Union peacekeepers are outgunned and outnumbered by rebels and militias in Darfur, the AU force commander Martin Luther Agwai said on Tuesday.
He said this was one reason an AU base in Haskanita, southeast Darfur, was overwhelmed so quickly during the worst attack on the peacekeepers by suspected rebels on Saturday, killing and injuring at least 20 with three soldiers still missing.
"We are outgunned, we are outnumbered and we can be overrun very quickly," he told a visiting delegation of elder statesmen and women in Darfur's main town of el-Fasher.
He said attackers burnt the mosque, where many peacekeepers were praying during the Muslim fasting period and caught off guard during the attack at dusk prayers.
The injured waited some 18 hours until the AU could send in medical help, he said.
Nigerian Agwai, who will command a 26,000-strong joint U.N.-AU mission which is due to replace the struggling AU force by Jan. 1, painted a grim picture for the deployment, which has been delayed by a lack of pledges of well-equipped troops.
He said he did not expect extra forces to deploy by then.
"From all indications ... we are not going to have any appreciable change from where we are today until Dec 31."
After months of talks, threats and negotiations Khartoum agreed to the hybrid mission, but they insist the force retain an "African character."
While African nations have pledged almost double the number of infantry needed for the force, Agwai said the reality was that most of them did not meet U.N. standards.
And despite an Aug 31. deadline for pledges, the force has still not enough specialised air or logistical support expected from Western nations.
"I'm an African ... but the reality is not many African countries can provide troops that can self-sustain themselves for six months," he said.
