Prime Minister Stephen Harper is trying to clarify his comments about Canada sending troops to Sudan, suggesting that if troops go, there won't be many. On Wednesday, Harper said a troop deployment to the troubled Darfur region was possible, contradicting Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, who said earlier in the week that Canada's military is stretched too thin to handle another deployment.
INDEPTH: Darfur
Appearing before a Senate committee on Monday, O'Connor said the military won't be able to take on any new missions until it finishes expansion plans that call for the addition of 13,000 personnel over the next five years.
O'Connor said training all those new people will be a major draw on the military's resources.
"We can maintain Afghanistan as it is into the future basically forever, but we would be greatly challenged for a substantial commitment elsewhere," he said.
Canada 'looking at options'
In the House of Commons on Thursday, Harper said Canada is "limited" in its ability to contribute to an international force for Darfur. But, he said, the cabinet will come up with a Darfur plan shortly. "Canada is looking at all options in terms of its future participation," said Harper. "They include military assistance as well as humanitarian assistance, and technical support and support on governance issues. We don't anticipate any escalation of our military presence in Darfur." About 100 Canadian soldiers are already serving in Darfur as advisers to African Union troops. The UN is trying to negotiate a new multinational military contingent to enforce a recent peace agreement between the government and rebels.
The UN estimates that the years of fighting in the Darfur region killed an estimated 180,000 people and displaced two million more.