Rwanda ready to deploy more troops in Sudan’s Darfur
May 11, 2006 (KIGALI) — A highly-placed source at the Ministry of Defense has said that the Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF) is ready to deploy more troops for a peacekeeping mission in the troubled western Sudan region of Darfur, should the African Union request for their services.
“We are committed, ready and willing to deploy as long as our services are needed. It is our utmost wish that the people of Darfur get peace and we shall do anything possible and in our capacity to ensure they get the peace they have long craved for,” the Rwandan New Times said.
The development follows a recent appeal by the US deputy secretary of state, Robert Zoellick, to the African Union, requesting that Rwanda sends an additional 1,200 troops to Darfur after the warring parties signed a peace deal Friday 5 may last week in Nigeria.
According to Zoellick, the 7,000 African Union forces already in Darfur need to be supplemented immediately, while solutions are being sought for the current deployment standoff between the UN and the Sudanese government.
“It’s a time to turn from guns and bullets,” Zoellick told US-based reporters in a conference call from Abuja, where he helped in marathon negotiations to reach a deal with Sudan’s main rebel group and the government.
(ST)