Uganda to deploy 50 policemen in Sudan’s Darfur

KAMPALA, July 12, 2005 (Xinhua) — Uganda is to deploy 50 policemen in Sudan’s western region of Darfur under an African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission, local press reported on Tuesday.

The commissioner of police in charge of human resource, Chris Opio told the state-owned newspaper, The New Vision on Monday that the AU had written to Uganda requesting for 50 policemen for a peacekeeping mission.

He said the group is different from another contingent of senior police officers slated for peacekeeping duties in southern Sudan under the UN peacekeeping mission.

The United Nations has a plan to deploy over 10,000 troops and about 700 civilian police personnel to oversee the security in southern Sudan after a peace agreement between the Khartoum government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Nairobi, Kenya in January 2005.

Uganda has trained over 1,000 troops as part of the peacekeeping force in southern Sudan.