Darfur.2C Sudan African Union

south sudanese independence referendum, 2011

in response ongoing darfur conflict in sudan, au has deployed 7,000 peacekeepers, many rwanda , nigeria, darfur. while donor s conference in addis ababa in 2005 helped raise funds sustain peacekeepers through year , 2006, in july 2006 au said pull out @ end of september when mandate expires. critics of au peacekeepers, including dr. eric reeves, have said these forces largely ineffective due lack of funds, personnel, , expertise. monitoring area size of france has made more difficult sustain effective mission. in june 2006, united states congress appropriated us$173 million au force. some, such genocide intervention network, have called un or nato intervention augment and/or replace au peacekeepers. un has considered deploying force, though not enter country until @ least october 2007. under-funded , badly equipped au mission set expire on 31 december 2006 extended 30 june 2007 , merged united nations african union mission in darfur in october 2007. in july 2009 african union ceased cooperation international criminal court, refusing recognise international arrest warrant had issued against sudan s leader, omar al-bashir, indicted in 2008 war crimes.

the au struggled have strategic role in independence talks , reconciliation process of south sudan, anyway due overwhelming interests of african , non-african powers, influence still limited , not consistent.