Nigerian troops leave for Darfur Thursday

ABUJA, Nigeria, Aug 24, 2004 (PANA) — The first batch of 155 Nigerian troops
will leave for the Darfur region of western Sudan Thursday as
part of a 300-strong African Union force being sent to the area
to protect AU observers monitoring the ceasefire in the region,
Nigerian military officials said Tuesday here.

The troops, who are already assembled in Abuja, will be airlifted
from the Nigerian capital city, the officials said.

They will join the same number of Rwanda troops currently being
deployed to the crisis-torn region.

The commander of the force, Nigerian Army Brig.-Gen. Festus
Okonkwo, said Tuesday he was ready to receive the additional
troops.

“I understand they are ready to go, we are ready to receive
them,” he told PANA on the sidelines of the Sudan peace talks in
Abuja.

The Nigerian government got approval from parliament to deploy as
many as 1,500 troops to the region, if necessary.

The Sudanese government has rejected the deployment of any
foreign troops, including those from the AU, saying the issue of
security in Darfur was its responsibility.

Sudanese delegation spokesman Ibrahim Mohammed Ibrahim told PANA
in Abuja Tuesday the government has deployed 40,000 troops and
11,000 policemen to the region, where fighting between government
and rebel forces have causes a humanitarian crisis.

But AU Chair President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria said the
Sudanese government had requested the assistance of AU to send
troops to disarm the rebels.