...As NAMID Chief Resigns

The head of the peacekeeping force in Darfur has resigned - prospects of an early resolution to the conflict cast in doubt.

On Tuesday, a volatile situation was left in Sudan's war-torn Darfur, as Rodolphe Adada stepped down as head of the peacekeeping force.

The United Nations is now seeking a replacement for Adada, a former foreign minister of Congo, whose resignation takes effect on August 31.

Adada has headed the joint African Union - U.N. force, known as UNAMID, since its inception but has been criticized for alleged ineffectiveness.

However, as Fouad Hikmat, AU and Sudan special advisor at the International Crisis Group has said, the mission is facing objective problems and is operating in a very complex political reality, regardless of who heads it.

"Without a peace agreement in Darfur, anyone will have difficulties in managing this hybrid mission," Hikmat told The Media Line.

He went on to say there needs to be a cease-fire which will be respected by all parties, and furthermore that all sides should support UNAMID's role.

"In the absence of that, it would be very difficult for a new person to pick up from Adada and suddenly make a change. I doubt that a new person can make a change in the current context," he said.

Adada's deputy, General Henry Anyidoho of Ghana, will head the mission temporarily until a permanent replacement is named.

UNAMID, created by a Security Council resolution in July 2007, is authorized to implement the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement.

The force formally began operations in December 2007, but quickly ran into trouble from a lack of military hardware, equipment and staff.

As of June 2009, less than two thirds of UNAMID's planned strength of 26,000 personnel were deployed. Governments and activists are concerned that civilians are paying the price of the slow deployment.

The situation in Darfur is relatively calm, but there are still instances of car-jacking and banditry, UNAMID said.

The conflict in Darfur began in early 2003 when local rebel groups rose up against the central government in Khartoum, protesting against decades of discrimination. The government has been accused of unleashing aggressive armed groups called the Janjaweed to counter the rebels.

More than 300,000 people have been killed and more than two million displaced in Darfur since fighting erupted, according to the U.N.

Khartoum says the death toll is much lower, and is closer to 10,000.

In March, the International Criminal Court issued an indictment and an arrest warrant against Sudanese President 'Umar Al-Bashir, on accounts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, but he is yet to be arrested.