Mozambique to send military observers to Sudan

MAPUTO, June 21, 2004 (Xinhua) — The Mozambican Armed Forces are to send five military observers to join the African peacekeeping mission in the troubled Sudanese province of Darfur, a statement from the Defense Ministry said Monday.

The statement said that the observers will help monitor a cease- fire in the region, under an agreement signed in April in the Chadian capital, Ndjamena.

The five Mozambican officers, who are already experienced in this kind of mission, are due to bid farewell to Defense Minister Tobias Dai at a ceremony this week.

The Mozambican forces have been involved in the United Nations and African Union peace keeping missions in East Timor, the Comoros, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The largest commitment is a unit of 200 troops currently stationed in Burundi.