After delays, Egyptian battalion to arrive in Darfur

November 12, 2008 (EL FASHER) – The Egyptian infantry battalion for
peacekeeping in Darfur will deploy Thursday to Saturday, joining the
African Union – United Nations hybrid operation (UNAMID), a spokesman
said Nov. 7.

An Egyptian heavy transport company arrived in Nyala, South Darfur on
Wednesday, consisting of 155 soldiers and officers. An additional
seven personnel were already on the ground as part of an advance
party.

“The Egyptian company will primarily support the distribution of cargo
between sector logistics bases, the movement of bulk cargo, including
water and fuel tankers, and provide transport and engineering
capabilities,” stated UNAMID.

In preparation for the arrival of the main body of the infantry
battalion, consisting of 490 personnel, another advance party of now
177 personnel has been doing logistics work for the incoming troops
since February.

Egypt has also deployed a signal company, and on August 14 it deployed
an engineering company of 335 military personnel.

UNAMID reported that the security situation in Darfur was relatively
calm during the first week of November, despite the increase in
carjackings, particularly in southern Darfur.

“Banditry activities, rape cases, are still prevalent in the region,”
stated the mission.

Mission Force Commander Martin Agwai expected 1,200 troops from Egypt
in May, but there have been delays.

Beyond the normal logistical challenges of moving military equipment
to a region as remote as Darfur, major delays are attributable to
security incidents along the vast government-held stretch of roads
from Port Sudan to Darfur.

Sudanese contractors often refuse to undertake the journey.
Consequently, the Egyptian advance party was tasked with driving their
own equipment from El Obeid to Um Kadada.

The 72 drivers and 4 officers from the first Egyptian battalion
arrived in Um Kadada on September 15, but subsequently flew to El
Obeid and moved their equipment by road on September 22, according to
the UN secretary-general’s latest report to the Security Council.

During August and September rains, UNAMID was able to move three armed
convoys involving 165 vehicles from El Obeid to El Fasher. One
40-vehicle convoy encountered more than 100 World Food Programme (WFP)
trucks at the Kordofan-Darfur border, where the WFP convoy had stood
idle for three weeks, reportedly owing to lack of escorts, the
secretary-general reports.

Another cause of delay is that the equipment has to pass through
approval by customs, national intelligence and national security
officials at Port Sudan.

The equipment of the Egyptian transport company arrived in Port Sudan
on January 31, but only 15% of it had arrived in Nyala in Darfur by
the end of May, according to the secretary-general’s June 17 report on
deployment.

Moreover, construction work on the Um Kadada base, where the Egyptians
were to deploy, was not begun when it was meant to in early June, due
to an inability to offload heavy engineering machinery.

Hocine Medili, a UNAMID logistics official, traveled to Um Kadada in
North Darfur on October 13 to inspect the readiness of the Egyptians’
team base. Medili was accompanied by the Egyptian officer in charge of
deployment, the UNAMID military planning officer and the mission’s
chief engineer.

At that time, the Egyptian battalion was expected to join the mission
at the end of October.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769 (2007) authorized
UNAMID to have a strength of up to 19,555 military personnel,
including 360 military observers and liaison officers. Today’s
deployment brings the total number of UNAMID troops in Darfur to
9,122.

(ST)