African troops tested in Darfur

Still, he stresses, there is a learning curve, and the men are climbing it.

An equally big, if not bigger, problem is the monitor's mandate.

As it stands their job is to verify that the two sides of the April cease-fire agreement - the government of Khartoum and the two rebel groups - are fulfilling their obligations. They report violations to the political arm of the AU, which is working to hammer out a long-term resolution between the sides in peace talks in Nigeria.

But the AU pushing for a broader mandate to allow both monitors and protection troops to use force to stop attacks on civilians by the militias.

This is a call the Sudanese government has been reluctant to heed. Sudan's UN Ambassador Elfatih Mohamed Erwa this week told reporters the government had no objection to increasing the AU force, but would not accept a changed mandate for them. Khartoum, he said, is increasing the number of its police on the ground and improving security on its own. An expanded mandate would only lead to confrontation, he said.

Sudan is expected to avoid sanctions, which were threatened by the UN if Khartoum didn't make moves to end the crisis by Aug. 30.

Finally, it is clear on the ground that the monitors cannot even uphold the mandate they have, let alone a broader one, without more technical support, including equipment, food, housing, and transportation.

In Geneina, for example, the monitors have four vehicles. They need two for every patrol in case one gets stuck, and one more at headquarters for emergencies. This means that while there are 26 monitors in the province of West Darfur and 12 more Rwandans protecting them, only one patrol goes out a day.

Both the US and the EU are giving financial assistance and training to the AU, but not enough, according to one Western diplomat. "We need more people on the ground, and if [Western powers] don't want to be those people on the ground then we need to give logistical and financial support beyond what we are intending," he says. "The African countries are ready to get the job done. The question is: are we?

"Our rhetoric is not matched by resources," he says, answering his own question.

On the hill rising above Geneina, in the Sultan's old - and now ramshackle - palace, two dozen of the monitors are sitting around watching highlights from an athletic dance competition on Arabic satellite TV when the generator sputters out.

Someone goes out to tinker with it.

The faint sound of the call to prayer is heard and a few more men wander off, chatting in French, to pray to Allah. A Cameroonian sings a little ditty from back home and the rest head off to sleep. The TV suddenly flicks back on with news about Darfur.

But by now the room is empty. The generator sputters again and the image is lost.

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