US supports Gen. Karenzi’s Darfur contract extension

The United States State Department has urged the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to renew the contract of Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Karenzi Karake, the Deputy Force Commander for the AU/UN Hybrid Force in Darfur (UNAMID). The request to extend Karenzi’s contract was forwarded by Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer during the weekend. Karenzi was appointed UNAMID Deputy Force commander in August last year with a mandate of 12 months. According to media sources, Frazer said that Rwandan troops have more than any other force played a pivotal role in Darfur and may be called to play a similar one in a future UN mission in Somalia. She signaled that Karenzi ‘has to stay.’ Frazer’s statement comes a few days after the US Ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, said that his nation was backing Rwanda’s idea of keeping Gen. Karenzi in Darfur.