R 311056Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY OUAGADOUGOU
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 3008
INFO COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE
CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
USDAO ABIDJAN IV

CONFIDENTIAL OUAGADOUGOU 000920 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
FOR A/S FRAZER FROM CDA BROWN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECLAS: 10/31/2017 
TAGS: MASS PREL MOPS MARR UV
SUBJECT: Burkinabe Peacekeeping Forces in Darfur: Urgent Need 
for USG to Provide Armored Personnel Carriers 
 
Classified by Charge David Brown for reason 1.4 (d) 
 
 
¶1. (C) AmEmbassy Ouagadougou wishes to flag for you the 
urgent issue of the U.S. purchase of 26 armored personnel 
carriers (APCs) for the Burkinabe battalions that we hope to 
have deployed to Darfur.  Over many months, the ACOTA 
program has been working successfully to train and equip 
multiple Burkinabe battalions in the anticipation that 
they would be deployed to Darfur as early as December 2007. 
Although this December date will no longer be possible, we 
expect that - other than the APCs and other, less costly items - 
the first Burkinabe should be ready to deploy in the first 
quarter of 2008, with second and subsequent Burkinabe battalions 
rotating in after several months. 
 
¶2. (C) However, despite appeals made in Ouagadougou by the 
Burkina Faso Government (GOBF) in early September and a P-3 
Demarche sent out on September 26 (State 136068), we are 
unaware of other donors who may have stepped forward to make 
equipment donations for the Burkinabe.  We and Burkinabe 
officials are not optimistic that any donors will step forward 
in the coming weeks. 
 
¶3. (C) A high-level UN team currently plans to visit Burkina 
Faso in the November 26-December 2 timeframe to look at the 
status of GOBF pledges to the UN/AU peace-keeping operation in 
Darfur (UNAMID).  AmEmbassy Ouagadougou has previously engaged 
in teleconferences with UN DPKO in New York, along with AF/RSA 
and USUN.  During these calls, DPKO has made it clear that it 
would insist that troop-contributing countries (TCCs) strictly 
adhere to its force-protection equipment requirements - including 
APCs - despite the fact that these requirements, in some areas, 
were significantly more demanding than African Union requirements 
under which Burkina Faso originally made its pledge of troops. 
 
¶4. (C) If the Burkinabe can not confirm, by the time of this 
high-level UN inspection, that 26 APCs and other equipment have 
been pledged by another country on its behalf, Burkina Faso will 
likely be dropped from the current TCC rotation, and postponed 
indefinitely as a TCC. 
 
¶5. (C) Burkinabe Defense Minister Boly on October 25 and the 
Chief of Staff of the Burkinabe Armed Forces Traore on 
October 26 relayed their concerns to Charge about such an 
outcome.  We are confident that President Compaore and/or 
Prime Minister Zongo will raise this issue during their 
meetings with the Deputy Secretary and you on November 13. 
 
¶6. (C) A U.S. failure to come forth with the necessary 
funding to secure the APCs will likely prevent Burkina Faso 
from keeping its public pledges to provide peacekeepers to 
Darfur - such as made by Foreign Minister Bassole during his 
UNGA speech on October 2.  Given President Compaore's 
personal commitment to peaceful mediation in many of the 
continent's conflicts, most notably in Cote d'Ivoire, Niger 
and Togo, a retreat on his Government's promises would be a 
serious loss of face for him - and a serious loss of 
credibility for the United States. 
 
¶7. (C) The Burkinabe have been cooperative in allowing 
and supporting the JSOAD air detachment at the air force 
base at Ouagadougou's international airport.  With the host 
government's blessing and support, JSOAD has been supporting 
plane movements in support of the USG's Trans-Sahelian 
counter-terrorism efforts. 
 
¶8. (C) Burkina Faso was also recently elected to a two-year 
term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. 
We will be repeatedly calling on Burkina Faso to support our 
UNSC positions regarding Africa and the rest of the world. 
We have taken the Burkinabe down the aisle with our vision of 
helping it to send peacekeepers to Darfur; as we near completion 
of months of efforts to train and equip, now is not the time 
to abandon Burkina Faso. 
 
¶9. (U) Ambassador Jeanine Jackson, who is currently away 
from Post, has approved this message. 
 
BROWN