AFRICOM praises Ethiopia’s helicopter offer to Darfur UNAMID

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

February 10, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) — The US military command for Africa (AFRICOM) chief commended Ethiopia’s extended role in regional peace and security, citing the country’s recent decision to dispatch helicopters to the hybrid AU-UN peacekeeping mission in the restive region of Darfur.

AFRICOM commander General William Ward on Tuesday held talks on regional and continental issues with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, where he was briefed on the situations in Sudan and Somalia.

With tensions escalating in the run-up to the upcoming election and also in the 2011 referendum for secession, the two officials broadly discussed Sudan and ways the United States could play a crucial role to placing durable peace and security in the Africa’s largest country.

Last week Ethiopia announced that it is deploying five tactical helicopters to the joint peace force in Darfur (UNAMID).

The AFRICOM commander expressed concern of a potential violence outburst in the upcoming elections of Sudan scheduled in April. General William Ward lauded Ethiopia’s decision to immediately deploy helicopters in Darfur saying it as the continual commitment of the country to peace efforts in Sudan.

“Those helicopters, and the mobility they provide will be an absolutely value-added contribution to the UNAMID mission, certainly from the standpoint of mobility, to get around to places that might otherwise be inaccessible. Those helicopters will be a very great added contribution to UNAMID,’’ he said.

The United States Africa Command AFRICOM is one of the Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for U.S. military operations and military relations with 53 African nations — an area of responsibility covering all of Africa except Egypt.

Africa Command initially was established October 1, 2007 as a temporary sub-unified command under U.S. European Command, which for more than two decades was responsible for U.S. military relations with more than 40 African nations. Then it became formally activated as an independent Command on October 1, 2008, during a public ceremony at the Pentagon attended by representatives of African nations posted in Washington, D.C.

(ST)