US embassy cable - 04ABUJA1396

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 001396 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF AND PM/RSAT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/16/2014 
TAGS: PREL, MOPS, SU, NI, DARFUR 
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: BRITISH WOES WITH DARFUR DEPLOYMENT 
 
REF: ABUJA 1382 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN CAMPBELL FOR REASONS 1.5 b AND d. 
 
 1. (C) The British High Commission told us August 16 that 
they are having considerable difficulty bringing the GON to 
action on transporting the Nigerian force protection unit to 
Darfur.  Since the handoff to the UK (reftel), the British 
High Commissioner has met with President Obasanjo, the 
Nigerian Chief of Defense Staff and others, and they tell him 
the GON is ready to work with the UK to get the Nigerians to 
Darfur.  The British DATT arranging the transport has met 
with a variety of Nigerian MOD officials, but none of them 
are trying to operationalize that transport, and at least 
some occasionally tell the British DATT that the Nigerians 
will use their own C-130s to get to Darfur. 
 
2. (C) COMMENT: Neither the British nor we believe Nigeria's 
C-130s can transport the company-size unit to Darfur, or even 
provide full resupply of the unit once there.  The British 
believe the problem is getting the word from Obasanjo down to 
Nigerian officials at a level where the transport can be 
operationalized.  We would add that the British DATT unit 
here is only two Attaches, one of whom is not at post, and 
they have not been through this with the Nigerians before as 
we have in the Liberia deployment.  We are providing all the 
help we can in giving the British the information we had 
gathered for moving the Nigerians to Darfur, and contacts 
among the Nigerians to get the job done. 
 
3. (U) Minimize considered. 
CAMPBELL