African Union peacekeepers are outgunned and outnumbered by rebels and militias in Darfur, the AU force commander Martin Luther Agwai has said.
He said this was one reason an AU base in Haskanita, southeast Darfur, was overwhelmed so quickly during the worst attack on the peacekeepers by suspected rebels on Saturday, killing and injuring at least 20 with three soldiers still missing.
A destroyed dormitory is seen following the attack on peacekeepers of the African Union mission in Haskanita last weekend
"We are outgunned, we are outnumbered and we can be overrun very quickly," the Nigerian officer told a visiting delegation of elder statesmen and women in Darfur's main town of el-Fasher yesterday.
He said attackers burnt the mosque, where many peacekeepers were praying during the Muslim fasting period and caught off guard during the attack at dusk prayers.
The injured waited some 18 hours until the AU could send in medical help, he said.
Commmander Agwai, who will command a 26,000-strong joint UN-AU mission which is due to replace the struggling AU force by January 1st, painted a grim picture for the deployment, which has been delayed by a lack of pledges of well-equipped troops.
He said he did not expect extra forces to deploy by then.
"From all indications ... we are not going to have any appreciable change from where we are today until December 31st."
After months of talks, threats and negotiations Khartoum agreed to the hybrid mission, but they insist the force retain an "African character."
While African nations have pledged almost double the number of infantry needed for the force, Commander Agwai said the reality was that most of them did not meet UN standards.
And despite an August 31st deadline for pledges, the force has still not enough specialized air or logistical support expected from Western nations.
Beside being ill-equipped, Commander Agwai revealed operational difficulties.
He said entire AU patrols were aborted because government and rebel ceasefire observers would fight over who could sit in the front seat.
The AU has come under attack, as in Haskanita, because they are the most visible sign of the failure of the international community to stem the violence in Darfur.
International experts say some 200,000 have died and 2.5 million driven from their homes sparking the world's largest humanitarian operation, which is also attacked almost daily.