VZCZCXRO6866
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0570 1050751
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 140751Z APR 08 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0550
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0155
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000570 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS, AF/SE WILLIAMSON 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: UNAMID POLICE DEPLOYMENT 
¶1. (SBU) UNAMID Acting Chief of Police Administration Ralf Gehling 
told poloff April 8 that the second 140-officer UNAMID Formed Police 
Unit (FPU), from Nepal, is poised to deploy in late April. The 
Nepalese FPU, the third non-African UNAMID unit after the Chinese 
 
engineers and the Bangladeshi FPU to arrive in theatre, would 
augment the Bangladeshi FPU presence at Nyala's teeming Kalma IDP 
camp. Gehling said that current transportation limitations might 
result in the Nepalese equipment arriving in late April, with 
Nepalese police arriving only when the equipment is in place. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Gehling said that three other police units that were 
expected to arrive in April - an Indonesian FPU for the Zam Zam IDP 
camp, a Nigerian FPU for El-Geneina, and an Egyptian FPU for Graida 
IDP camp - will probably be delayed and will arrive no earlier than 
May, but warned that this also depends on the timely arrival of 
their equipment into El-Fasher (which experience has shown is 
unlikely).  He added that UNAMID has adopted the policy that FPU 
personnel will be permitted to arrive in Darfur only when their 
equipment has arrived beforehand. UNAMID expects a Senegalese FPU 
for the Zam Zam IDP camp to arrive late May or even June, also 
depending on the timely arrival of its equipment. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Gehling added that the police units, like the UNAMID 
military units, are affected by the lack of accommodations but 
continue to press ahead with planned deployments. Gehling pointed 
out that there were no accommodations when the Bangladeshi FPU 
arrived in Nyala but the Chinese engineers were able to quickly 
construct housing for the Bangladeshis. (NOTE: The Deputy Chief of 
Staff said that the quick construction of the Bangladeshi housing at 
Nyala was only made possible by Chinese engineers who were already 
on the ground. There are no engineers with equipment at the other 
sites. END NOTE.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) Gehling said that individual UNAMID police numbers are also 
expected to increase from their current level of 1562 personnel, but 
that UN policy might adversely affect future recruitment. He said 29 
Nepalese and 14 Gambian police officers will arrive by the end of 
April, and 40 additional South African officers will arrive in May. 
However, Gehling said that UN policy requires UNAMID to charge the 
police a fee of $24 per night to live in UN furnished 100-person 
tents.  The police have complained that the sub-standard 
accommodations are filthy, unfit for habitation and not worth the 
$24. Gehling said that the police quote UN Department of Field 
Support Under-Secretary-General Jane Holl-Lute, who stated that 
personnel should not have to pay for the sub-standard 
accommodations.  While recruitment has not suffered yet, Gehling 
said that he has received a number of inquiries from prospective 
recruits about the UN-required payment for these accommodations. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Asked about the effectiveness of current policing programs, 
Gehling said that a shortage of vehicles limits police effectiveness 
by reducing the duration and number of UNAMID police patrols. 
Gehling said that overland transportation is the underlying cause 
for this shortage; there are 160 vehicles at the UNAMID logistics 
base in El-Obeid, but there are no contractors currently available 
to move them to El-Fasher or Nyala.  As a solution, he said that he 
plans to task police officers to go to El-Obeid and drive the 
vehicles to El-Fasher and Nyala - a risky proposition given the 
number of recent car-jackings in Darfur. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment: Additional formed police units (FPUs) arguably may 
provide a greater benefit to the people in Darfur than equal numbers 
of military troops and possibly would be easier to accommodate.  UN 
logistics and bureaucracy once again appear to be the primary 
obstacles to rapid and efficient deployment.  U/SYG Jane Holl-Lute's 
current visit to El Fasher may help address some of these daunting 
problems, and will be reported septel. 
 
FERNANDEZ