The Czech Republic does not have enough suitable helicopters, the Ministry said. In order to end the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, the joint units of the African Union (AU) and United Nations mission in Darfur (UNAMID) needed more helicopters. International personalities have criticised a number of countries, including the Czech Republic, for being reluctant to send them to Sudan. "Although the Czech Republic Boat accident in Congo leaves dozens dead ...
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Darfur school 'bombed from air' ... has a relatively high number of helicopters, most of them are not technically suitable for such operations.
Their modernisation or replacement is impossible in the short run. Other countries are facing similar problems," the Czech Foreign Ministry said. Last October, the United Nations asked Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek for the helicopters for Darfur, but the Czech Republic could not comply with the request as it had employed the suitable helicopters for the operation ISAF in Afghanistan. "For this reason, we are not considering their deployment in Darfur in the near future," the Czech Foreign Ministry press department said. It said the Czech government had been repeatedly asked to provide helicopters for various peace-keeping operations. "The shortage of helicopters for the peace-keeping operations of the United Nations, NATO and the EU is a long-standing problem. Along with Darfur, it has been seen in Chad and Afghanistan," the Czech Foreign Ministry said. The Czech government contributed 17 million crowns to the peace-keeping operation in Darfur in which the Czech Republic has neither a military nor police presence. The joint forces of the UNAMID and the AU in Darfur are supposed to have 26,000 soldiers and police, but their real numbers is fewer than 10,000. Mission commanders are demanding further equipment, in particular the helicopters that are vital for the safe movement of the unit. The news agency Reuters has written that UNAMID wants the international community to have six combat helicopters, 18 transportation planes and one plane for civilian needs. The conflict in Darfur, in which the government units are fighting against local rebels, has claimed 300,000 lives and made from 2.2 million people refugees. (USD1=15.343 crowns)
(Ceske Noviny)
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