UN agrees to reduce peacekeeping force in Darfur

‘The UN Security Council on Thursday agreed to a major drawdown of peacekeepers in Sudan’s troubled region of Darfur after US pressure led to a $600-million cut in the UN budget for peace operations.
The council unanimously adopted a British-drafted resolution that will reduce the number of troops and police serving in the joint African Union-UN mission known as UNAMID by at least 30 percent.
Deployed in 2007, UNAMID has about 16,000 blue helmets on the ground who are tasked with protecting civilians in the war that Sudan’s government forces and pro-Khartoum militias are waging against rebel groups.
The United Nations and African Union maintain that the Darfur conflict is winding down and that the mission — among the costliest with a budget of over $1 billion — should be trimmed.’
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