Back in December of 2007, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon sent a letter to the UN Security Council asking for 24 helicopters, after months of asking governments to lend their aircrafts. These helicopters were for the new UN/African Union peacekeeping force for Darfur signed back in July. This new force is set to have 26,000 members, making it bigger and better equipped than just the African Union alone. But for months no member state had come forward to provide the vital helicopters. It seemed no one could be spared to provide assistance to resolve the peace in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The United States provided the excuse that all their helicopters are tied up in Iraq and Afghanistan, while many other countries whose leader’s have expressed concern over Darfur, didn’t seem to have a ready excuse.

As of April 2008, only 9000 of the 26,000 troops had been deployed. The helicopters are needed to move the troop around in the quickest and most efficient manner. Officials claim that the violence may actually be increasing and the lack of helicopters is only delaying more deployment. One country finally stepped forward, offering only five choppers, but still it is five more than they had.

Here is the article relating to the story:

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL08303897

*Photo of helicopter in Sudan taken by Jan Pronk