Rwanda to send additional troops to Darfur
July 27, 2007 (KIGALI) — Rwanda intends to increase the number of troops they have in Darfur.
The Rwandan foreign affairs minister, Dr Charles Muligande, said that President Paul Kagame has given his approval to increase the number of troops deployed there.
The announcement was made following a meeting between Kagame and Sudan’s foreign minister, Dr Lam Akol.
Akol delieverd a message from President Omar al-Bashir to his Rwandan counterpart. Their talks focused on the current security situation in Darfur region.
Minister Lam Akol thanked Rwandans for supporting Sudan during the war in Darfur region.
Akol said that Rwanda took part in deploying its troops to assist people in danger knowing that they could lose their lives.
Sudan’s top dipolmat said that there is considerable progress in the resolution but stressed that there is still the issue of refugees and the well-being of the Darfur people.
Rwanda has around 2,000 peacekeepers out of the 7,000 troops in Darfur as part of the African Union forces.
In an interview with Reuters in early May , Kagame expressed frustration at the four-year-old conflict and said he was “ringing an alarm bell” for the world by threatening to withdraw his troops.
He would not set a deadline for a possible pullout of Rwanda’s troops from Darfur, which he has been threatening since March.
At least 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2.3 million made homeless in the Darfur conflict among African rebel groups, the Arab-dominated government and militia who back. The United States calls it a genocide.
(Radio Rwanda)