Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

Having visited Darfur just a few months ago, it is clear that circumstances have worsened and quite a number of people have been killed or displaced since then. The position is going from bad to worse and the international community must adopt a strong stance. However, it is not a simple issue of throwing in a UN-mandated force. I saw for myself when I visited Al Fashir, the headquarters of the AMIS in Darfur, that they were doing a difficult job with relatively small numbers. While I am happy that a decision has been taken to beef up the AMIS, it needs logistical support from major forces. When I was there the force had 7,000 troops in an area one and a half times the size of France. One can see the difficulties that such a force would have.

This is a key issue and must be handled sensitively at international level. I met the head of the African Union in Addis Ababa on the same trip. He had just returned from a meeting of the African Union where many of his colleagues had put pressure on the Sudanese president to accept UN involvement in Darfur.

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