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Background — AVGPs in Africa — Grizzlys
and Huskys for Darfur |
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Military Vehicles as Internationalism? AVGPs in Africa
In 2005, while the Canadian government was debating the redeployment of Canadian Forces troops to Afghanistan,
another conflict caught the attention of Canada's public – Darfur. That brutal and convoluted struggle has
been well covered elsewhere. In short, it is a civil war involving rebel and government-sponsored militias and
Sudanese regular forces.[1] Without Sudan's acquiescence, demands for CF peacekeepers were naïve but,
Ottawa was under pressure.
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Under Operation Augural, Canada provides training for African troops manning the AVGPs. The AU has been
criticized for its terms of service in regard to AVGPs. Amnesty International has noted, of AU troops on 6 month
deployments, that "by the time drivers are trained ... they only have four months" on duty. [3] AI
suggested that "trained APC drivers" from Kenya, Nigeria, or South Africa be used instead (raising the
point that Nigeria already had AVGP-like vehicles in service). [4]
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Amiss Amid Dismay – AMIS becomes UNAMID, No Peace in Sight
The AU driver who rammed that hostile 'tactical ' seems to have taken his own initiative. By all accounts, AMIS rarely
conducted operations in a vigous fashion. [6] When the UN finally got Sudan's approval to field a more robust
peacekeeping force, Canada extended the AVGP loan to this hybrid UN/AU Mission in Darfur.
Repainted in UNAMID markings, AVGPs resumed their tasks but UNAMID has expressed its dissatisfaction with AVGPs and
wants a replacement. [6] Performance of vehicles and peacekeepers aside, the question is: has loaning military
vehicles for international /UN use been a success. If so, is there potential for other expressions of foreign aid using
surplus vehicles?
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[1] The Sudanese military is accused by the UN of mimicking peacekeepers, using white-painted, UN-marked aircraft
"for reconnaissance, supply operations, and attacks". For details: HRW's Chaos by Design:
Peacekeeping Challenges for AMIS and UNAMID: North Darfur.
[2] UNAMID was authorized by UN Security Council Resolution 1769 in July of 2007 and stood up at El Fasher, Sudan
on 1 January 2008.
[3] Quoting Amnesty International from UNAMID Update: Time for Effective Action, 7 Feb 2008. The CF
provides instructors to train AU personnel on the operation of AVGPs which, of course, includes other crew positions
besides drivers and Grizzly armament (M2 and C6).
[4] Nigeria had 70 Piranha I 6x6 (AVGP-like but with European drivetrains). In the 2008 budget,
36 Mowag APCs were to be refurbished.
[5] The Grizzly was in hot pursuit, receiving heavy machinegun fire from this 'tactical '.
The AVGP slammed into and rolled over the truck.
[6] Canada bought new mine-resistant vehicles for Senegalese UNAMID use (the Casspir-like Gila MRV made by Ivema in South
Africa).
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In 2005, Canada decided to loan AVGPs to the 'African Union Mission in Sudan', the AU's ceasefire monitoring force in
Dafur. AMIS would receive 100 
Senegal. Most AVGPs were shipped by sea to Dakar, Senegal
although some were flown in. The AU loan was intended to be for one year - the term of the AMIS mandate
– but delays in forming a larger UN force [2] extended the AVGP's African sojourn and that of Canadian
Forces advisors.
Questions have also been raised as to whether AVGPs are appropriate to the conflict. Certainly, in CF service, the
Grizzlys were criticized for being less tractable than 8x8 LAVs. Darfur has areas of soft sand
and can have flash-floods both of which would challenge AVGP mobility (but then that is why the Husky ARVs
deployed alongside the Grizzlys). Convoy escort
meant Grizzlys sticking to tracks that a supply truck could handle. Tractability issues were
lessened but armour was more important.
The AVGPs sent to Africa were not fitted with their optional, add-on armour panels. Presumably such levels of
protection were not seen as necessary for
peacekeeping. AMIS patrol frequency has been criticized but that does not mean that AVGPs are not exposed to
hostile action. An RPG destroyed