Denmark ready to send 45 soldiers to help Sudan peace effort

COPENHAGEN, July 2 (AFP) — Denmark is ready to send up to 45 soldiers to take part in a possible peacekeeping force in Sudan, where Africa’s longest running civil war appears to be close to a resolution, the foreign minister said.

Per Stig Moeller said Denmark would “only send troops if the United Nations asked us to, and if there is a peace to keep”.

The Danish parliament’s foreign affairs committee backed the plan. Denmark will send an observer to Sudan in advance of a possible future deployment.

At least 1.5 mln people have been killed and more than 4 mln displaced since the southern-based Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) launched a rebellion against the government in 1983.

UN-mediated talks on the post-war military landscape began last week between the SPLA and Khartoum, ahead of a final peace deal.