Germany to send military observers to southern Sudan

BERLIN, Feb 28 (AFP) — Germany will send 50 military observers as part of the UN mission in southern Sudan once a mandate is decided by the UN Security Council, the defence ministry said on Monday.

“We are planning to send 50 soldiers, but it has to be planned with our European allies and it will also depend on what the UN mandate is,” a ministry spokesman told AFP.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan recently recommended deploying more than 10,000 peacekeepers in southern Sudan to help enforce a peace agreement struck in January to end more than two decades of civil war between the north and south of the country.

The contingent will include 750 military observers, 160 officers, small peacekeeping units totaling 5,070 personnel, a protection force of 4,150 soldiers. An additional force of 755 police officers is proposed.