GENEVA - The deadly attack on an African peacekeeping base in Darfur shows the importance of deploying a robust African Union-United Nations force armed to protect itself and civilians, the top U.N. aid official said on Tuesday.
John Holmes, U.N. under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said it was crucial for Darfur peace talks to proceed this month in Libya.
Investigations continue into the raid on Haskanita base in which 20 African Union (AU) soldiers were killed or hurt at the weekend, although a "rogue part of the JEM" could be to blame, he said, referring to the rebel Justice Equality Movement.
"We shouldn't be deflected by this from what we are trying to do, either on putting a peacekeeping force, a strengthened hybrid force in place, or from pressing ahead with the talks process," the former British diplomat said in an interview.
"This reinforces the need for it, rather than the other way around," he told Reuters in Geneva.
He spoke before returning to New York, where on Monday the Security Council put off for a day an official statement condemning the attack because of a dispute over naming the culprits behind the worst assault on AU forces since 2004.
"We're still trying to establish exactly what happened and why. It doesn't help in the run-up to the talks which are the absolutely crucial element in all of this," Holmes said.
Talks mediated by the United Nations and African Union are planned in Libya on Oct. 27.
The AU mediated a peace agreement between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels in May 2006 but only one of three rebel negotiating factions signed it. Since then, rebels have split into a dozen factions.
