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Map courtesy of UN
NATO’s assistance to AMIS consisted in helping the African Union expand its peacekeeping mission in Darfur by providing airlift for the transport of additional AU peacekeepers into the region and by training AU personnel. NATO support did not imply the provision of combat troops.
Overall, since the start of the mission, NATO-EU Air Movement Coordinators harmonised the airlift of some 37 500 troops, civilian police and military observers in and out of the Sudanese region. NATO alone coordinated the airlift of over 31 500 AMIS troops and personnel.
NATO's airlift was managed from Europe. A special AU Air Movement Cell at the AU’s headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, coordinated the movement of incoming troops and personnel on the ground. Both the European Union and NATO provided staff to support the cell, but the African Union had the lead.
Between 1 July 2005 and October 2005, NATO coordinated the strategic airlift for peacekeepers from African troop-contributing countries moving into Darfur, helping to transport almost 5 000 troops. This boosted the number of troops on the ground, which initially totalled 3,000.
In August 2005, on the request of the AU, the North Atlantic Council (NAC) agreed to assist in the transportation of civilian police. NATO coordinated the airlift of 50 AMIS civilian police personnel between August and October 2005.
From September 2005, NATO provided the coordination of strategic airlift for the rotation of troops, transporting them in and out of the region.
For the duration of the mission, NATO also provided training assistance to AMIS personnel in a variety of disciplines. Training took place in the three different AMIS headquarters: the Darfur Integrated Task Force Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the AU Mission Headquarters in Khartoum and the AMIS Force Headquarters (FHQ) in El Fasher, Sudan.
In August 2005, NATO contributed to organising a United Nations-led mapping exercise. The aim of the exercise was to help AU personnel understand and operate effectively in the theatre of operations, as well as to build their capacity to manage strategic operations. NATO provided 14 officers, including exercise writers and tactical-level controllers.
Strategic-level and operational planning
As part of its support to AMIS, NATO also provided staff training to 184 AU officers at the Darfur Integrated Task Force (DITF) Headquarters in Addis Ababa and at the AMIS Force Headquarters (FHQ) in El Fasher.
The training was based on strategic-level and operational planning. It focused on technologies and techniques to create an overall analysis and understanding of Darfur, and to identify the areas where the application of AU assets could best influence the operating environment and deter crises.
On 2 June 2006, the African Union requested NATO support for the establishment of an AMIS Joint Operations Centre (JOC), which the Alliance agreed to provide six days later.
On 8 June 2006, the NAC agreed to the AU request for training assistance in the fields of pre-deployment certification and lessons learned.
Following a further AU request on 19 September of the same year, NATO provided mentoring and training to the AMIS staff in the three AMIS headquarters. This assistance was designed to help the African Union establish a tailored Lessons Learned process. Seventy-five AMIS officers were trained through these courses.
In this area, NATO was working in full complementarity with the European Union, which also provided substantive input to the process.
Following a Note Verbale sent by the African Union on 25 August 2006, NATO provided temporary training and mentoring on managing information to six AU officers in the Information Assessment Cell of the Darfur Integrated Task Force.
