Dozens of additional Rwandan troops left for Sudan’s troubled Darfur region on Monday to reinforce a tiny, but growing, African force widely seen as the main hope to stabilising the area, a defense spokesperson said.
About 58 new troops are to join 165 others who arrived in Darfur over the weekend aboard United States air-force planes to strengthen the African Union force that is protecting unarmed military observers of a shaky April 4 ceasefire agreement, Rwandan army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Charles Karamba said.
”The 15 remaining troops will leave on Tuesday with their military equipment and supplies, raising the number of troops we sent to Darfur last to 237 since Friday,” Karamba said.
”One soldier will replace another returning home after he was injured when strong winds hit his tent as he slept,” Karamba said.
The Rwandan troops join 50 Nigerian troops who were deployed in Darfur on Thursday. They are reinforcements for the 390-member AU mission working in a region roughly the size of France. The mission is to expand to 3 320 people by November 30.
Originally a clash between African farmers and Arab nomads over the distribution of scarce resources, the Darfur conflict has grown into a counter-insurgency in which pro-government Arab militia have raped, killed and burned the villages of their enemy.
The Sudanese government denies allegations it supports the Arab militia, known as the Janjaweed.
The United Nations has called Darfur the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. About 70 000 people have died there since March — mostly through disease and hunger — while 1,5-million people have fled their homes since February last year. No reliable figures are available for those killed by violence.
The AU is expanding its mission in Darfur to 450 military observers, a substantial increase from the 80 recently deployed there to investigate and report on violations of a ceasefire between rebel groups fighting government troops and allied militia.
The observers will be protected by an armed security force of more than 2 300 soldiers and another 815 civilian police officers. — Sapa-AP