Canada has no military forces left for Sudan after deploying 2,500 troops in Afghanistan even if the African country calls for international troops, Gen. Rick Hillier, the chief of defense staff, has said.

The commitment in Afghanistan has left the Canadian military with "zero" capacity to make a difference in Sudan, the top soldier told Canadian Press (CP) in a recent interview.

"We're using every single part of our land forces to do the mission in Afghanistan while continuing to maintain appropriate readiness here at home for things that could occur," Hillier was quoted as saying by CP in a report on Saturday.

"Our capacity to do anything there on the ground with a land force is zero. It's as simple as that."

The Canadian army has 21,000 full-time and 15,000 reserve soldiers. About 2,500 at a time are deployed in Afghanistan on average six-month tours.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or displaced in waves of ethnic bloodletting in Sudan that show no signs of abating.

The fightings have spilled over to neighboring Chad, which has called for international troops. The UN Security Council has proposed sending 20,000 troops to the Darfur region but the Sudanese government has only agreed to allow a much smaller African Union force on its territory.

Canada has 25 military observers in Sudan. Besides, it has pledged more than 190 million Canadian dollars (170 million U.S. dollars) since 2004 to the African Union mission there, and has provided military equipment, helped train African peacekeepers, and provided some humanitarian stuff.

Source: Xinhua