Cambodia seeks Japan’s help in Sudan peace mission

March 9, 2008 (TOKYO) — Cambodian government seeks Japan’s support for itsUN peacekeeping mission working in southern Sudan, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Tea Banh said last Friday.

There are 300 Cambodian peacekeepers working in Malakal, southern Sudan, mainly for demining, since April 2006. The Cambodian troops, which have been cooperating with troops from India and Bangladesh, have removed a total of 1,613 mines.

Tea, who is also the Cambodian national defense minister, told The Asahi Shimbun in Tokyo that Cambodian troops sent to southern Sudan “have not yet been directly attacked, but the situation is tense.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura has proposed that the Self-Defense Forces be sent to Sudan to participate in the U.N. peacekeeping mission. But the security situation will likely lead to further calls in Japan for a more cautious approach.

“Cambodia will continue to fulfill its duties in peacekeeping operations with the cooperation of Japan,” Tea said.

But in Sudan, the situation is so unstable that the legal conditions under which SDF members can be dispatched on peacekeeping missions may not be met. SDF members cannot be sent on peacekeeping mission to areas that are considered combat zones.

In addition to mortar attacks near where the Cambodian troops are housed, fighting has broken out about 6 kilometers from a site where mines were being removed, Tea said.

The fighting forced the Cambodian troops to suspend peacekeeping activities for 15 days. The troops have been helping local residents who were victims of the mortar attack.

(ST)