Darfur operations at 60 percent

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- The arrival of a new unit of soldiers deployed to support U.N. peacekeeping operations in the Darfur region of Sudan puts the operation at 60 percent capacity.

The U.N.-African Union joint peacekeeping operation in Darfur reached troop levels of about 60 percent of what U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the international community to commit to the volatile region to counter the escalating threat from rebel forces, the United Nations reported.

Recent weeks have seen the arrival of several units of troops from Ethiopia and Pakistan. Despite the welcome addition, the number of forces on the ground in Darfur is far short of the 26,000 personnel required to halt the violence that has killed an estimated 300,000 people since 2003.

Ban wrote in a recent report on the worsening security situation in Sudan and the lack of progress on peace negotiations between rebel groups and the Sudanese government that "humanitarian operations are at risk, clashes between the parties occur with regrettable regularity and the parties have not reached a negotiated peace agreement," the United Nations reported.