126 Egyptian peacekeepers arrive in Darfur
July 24, 2008 (ELFASHER) – Some 126 members of the Egyptian Engineering Company arrived today from Cairo joining 83 personnel already deployed in El Fasher on 7 June as part of the advanced team.
Other 126 Egyptian engineers are expected in Darfur in the next few days so that the company full strength will be 335 personnel.
The Egyptian Engineering company is composed of an engineering platoon (de-mining), a construction platoon, an explosive ordinance disposal squadron, a special force squadron for protection, road platoon capable of constructing four km of road per week, and a water desalination platoon capable of producing two cubic meters of pure water per hour.
“The Egyptian Company has already been assigned the construction and maintenance of El Fasher airport.” Said Jagdish Rele, UNAMID’s Chief Engineer, in a statement issued by the hybrid mission today.
The last batch of Chinese engineers arrived to Darfur on July 17. The 172-member troop — including 27 officers and 145 soldiers — arrived on Thursday in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, bringing the total number of Chinese engineers in Darfur to 315.
The main responsibility of the Chinese engineers is to build and maintain roads and bridges, dig wells and build a helicopter parking apron to prepare for the deployment of the hybrid UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
Currently they are building a heliport airport in Nyala, South Darfur’s capital, and setting up the super camp for the AU-UN troops, and surveying water resources.
(ST)