Canada will commit another $48 million in aid to war-stricken Darfur, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay announced Thursday.
He told Jane Taber, co-host of CTV's Question Period, the money will go towards providing fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, aviation fuelling and training. The aid will facilitate troops moving supplies around Darfur, a region the size of Manitoba but with few roads.
"This is one of the most war-stricken places in the world," he said. "This additional $48 million will go a long way to getting that immediate food stuff to those who need it most."
No Canadian troops will be involved, he said, as there has been no request for them.
"This will be a predominantly African union-led mission. We'll be there in a supporting role and doing some of the training that is going to be necessary to allow those African Union soldiers to do that important peacekeeping work."
To date, Canada has committed about $441 million towards humanitarian assistance in Darfur.
The additional aid comes days after the United Nations announced a new security resolution that will see a joint peacekeeping mission in the area by the African Union and the UN. Up to 26,000 military, police and civilian peacekeepers will be employed to keep an eye out on the troubled region.
"This mission, coinciding with the renewal of the peace process, will be critical in ensuring both an effective ceasefire and a lasting peace for the people of Darfur," MacKay said in a press release.
"This hybrid mission will also assist in the protection of civilians, particularly internally displaced persons, contribute to safe and unhindered access for aid workers, and mitigate sexual violence."
There are about 2 million displaced people in the region where 200,000 people have been killed in the last four years. Racial and religious differences have split the African nation and have made it one of the most war-stricken countries in the world.
