Ban Ki-moon United Nations Security Council approved sending 26,000 UN peacekeepers into the region to join 7,000 troops from the African Union. The resolution was heralded as a major breakthrough in confronting the Darfur conflict (although the United States labeled the conflict a "genocide", the United Nations has declined to do so). The first phase of the peacekeeping mission began in October 2007. Ban Ki-moon flew to Myanmar on 25 May 2008 to guide a conference with international agencies aimed at boosting donations for the nation, which was struck by Cyclone Nargis on 2 May 2008. The conference was initiated after Ban
Cyclone Giri Cyclone Nargis which struck the Irrawaddy Delta region as a low-end Category 4 equivalent in May 2008. However, according to the International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies, substantial weakening had taken place within the hours before landfall; they estimated that Cyclone Giri struck the coastline with winds of 175 km/h (110 mph ). Once overland, the cyclone rapidly decayed as convection dissipated. Despite having estimated winds of 150 km/h (90 mph ), the JTWC issued their final advisory on Giri just six hours after landfall. By early October 23, only scattered bursts of convection remained around the