Egyptian reinforcements arrive for UN Darfur force
April 21, 2009 (EL FASHER) – Egyptian peacekeeping forces numbering 75 personnel arrived this morning in Darfur, and they are expected to be joined by an equal number on April 23.
They form a guard for the 215-member Egyptian advance party that arrived last month beginning March 30. Deployment will take place to Ed El Fursan and Tulus in South Darfur.
The UN-African Union hybrid peacekeeping operation in Darfur (UNAMID), which now numbers about 15,500, is tasked with protecting 2.7 million displaced civilians in Darfur, a figure provided by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in March 2009.
”When the team is deployed, they will provide security to the advance party that is currently constructing accommodation for the main body which is scheduled to arrive within four months, bringing the battalion’s expected total to 850 peacekeepers,” said a statement from the UNAMID.
Meanwhile, a Jordanian delegation led by the Deputy Director of Jordan Public Security paid a visit to the North Darfur town of Kabkabiya on April 19.
The visit was aimed at assessing the location for the establishment of a Jordanian Formed Police Unit preparing to arrive in the Mission area during the second half of this year.
Overall deployment of the Mission is far behind schedule, and some equipment is lacking. For instance, a Nepalese formed police unit deployed many months ago has not received its armoured personnel carriers from Port Sudan due to visa restrictions on the technicians of Czech origin, according to a UN spokesperson in New York.
On Sunday night a fire damaged the UNAMID headquarters, raging through housing areas, a communications unit, and supplies.
(ST)