African Union summit opens to debates about unity, violence

Though Sudan has accepted the notion
of a joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur,
the operation could still be derailed by a lack of funding
and political will, African Union chairman Alpha Oumar
Konare said Sunday, according to AP.
«What is lacking today in the implementation of the
process is financial resources to put peacekeeping troops
on the ground,» said Konare, who spoke at the opening
session of the summit of the 53-member African Union. Many
AU member states have said they don't have enough funds to
outfit their soldiers for peacekeeping operations.
The three-day summit in Ghana's capital is being attended
by more than 30 heads of state, including the presidents of
Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The official topic of
debate is a long-discussed, but elusive idea for a
pan-African government. But immediate crises, such as
conflicts in Sudan, Somalia and Chad, along with political
turmoil in Zimbabwe, are expected to be addressed in
private.