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All-African army could be a bulwark against internal and external threats

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Sudanese protesters set tires on fire to mark the first anniversary of a raid on an anti-government sit-in, in Riyadh district, Khartoum on June 3, 2020.[AFP]

In 2003, as Darfur was burning, it wasn't the West or the UN that stepped up. The African Union (AU) did.

With the world watching from the sidelines, the Janjaweed militia, armed and emboldened by Sudan's government, unleashed terror across the region. Villages were razed, families torn apart, and the word 'genocide' was whispered in the halls of power. But while the international community hesitated, the African Union didn't. They deployed the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), their peacekeeping force, in 2004, a modest contingent with limited resources but a monumental task: to stand between life and death. It wasn't flashy, but it was effective.

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