THE GRIZZLY ROAD TO DARFUR

Paul Martin announced in May that Canada would provide military assistance to help in Darfur, Sudan. Finally that help is en route.

The first of more than a 100 Canadian armoured personnel carriers are on their way to Sudan to be used by African Union peacekeepers in the Darfur region...

The vehicles, which left Canada over the summer, have been sitting in Senegal for months because the Sudanese government wouldn't let them into the country. Sudan's government said they feared the southern rebels would get their hands on them.

Two transport planes, carrying a half a dozen armoured vehicles bound for Sudan, left Senegal Thursday...

The Russian-made IL-76 transports will stop to refuel in Libya [good old Libya!] before proceeding to Sudan. They will unload their cargo, then turn around and fly back to Senegal and start the process all over again...

It is costing the federal government $15.5 million to rent the cargo planes and it is expected to take about a month to move the vehicles, spare parts and ammunition into Sudan...

The story so far:

In May Paul Martin, in his fruitless effort to buy David Kilgour's vote in the House, promised that Canada would send around 100 troops to Sudan as advisers to the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in Darfur. Sudan refused to let them in.

Then in June the government said it would try to send around 100 clapped-out surplus Grizzly armoured personnel carriers, which have been in storage for six years, to the AU forces in Sudan. It just didn't know how it would get them there. And since Sudan still refused to let Canadian troops in, the government suggested the Canadian Forces might train AU troops on the Grizzlies in third countries. Or maybe contracted civilians could provide the training. Or maybe the government would find APCs from other countries and somehow get those to Sudan.

Finally, on July 28, Defence Minister Bill Graham announced the loan of the 105 armoured vehicles to African Union forces for use in Sudan. In September the vehicles arrived by ship in Senegal and 67 Canadian troops were sent to train African Union soldiers there on operating the vehicles. The training was completed in late September.

This is part of Canadian Forces' "Operation Augural".

We eventually learned on November 15 from the Globe and Mail's Washington correspondent that Sudanese government opposition had been keeping the Grizzlies in Senegal and that US government pressure was necessary to have the Sudanese government let the vehicles be sent.

I wonder if our government will give the Americans due credit for this action, without which our effort to help militarily in congo might still be fruitless.

It was odd that our government never told the public about the reason for the delay, and that no journalist in Ottawa bothered to find out. It was also odd that the story came out through a reporter in Washington and that none of the sources was Canadian.

And of course it is a pity the Canadian Air Force has no transport aircraft available to move the Grizzlies. And that politics, Liberal, Conservative and Bombardier has postponed any decision on new aircraft for the Air Force.

Update: Canadian Forces' video and photos of Grizzlies in Senegal.

Update II: Peace Force In Darfur Faces Major Challenges: African Troops Stymied By Shortages, Mission. Picture of Canadian Grizzly but no mention of Canada in the story itself.

Posted by markc at November 18, 2005 01:46 PM | TrackBack