Nigerian troops due in Darfur on Aug. 25-official

EL FASHER, Aug 15 (Reuters) – Nigerian troops mandated to protect African Union ceasefire monitors in the troubled western Darfur region of Sudan are due to arrive on Aug. 25, the Nigerian chairman of the ceasefire commission said on Sunday.

About 150 Rwandan troops were airlifted on Sunday to Darfur as part of the protection force for the truce monitors, and the Nigerian soldiers will be sent to join them.

“The Nigerians are scheduled to arrive on the 25th of this month,” Festus Okonkwo told reporters in the AU headquarters in El Fasher, the capital of Northern Darfur state.

Okonkwo added the mandate of the troops was not peacekeeping but to protect the 118 AU monitors currently in Darfur.

Okonkwo did not say how many Nigerian troops would be sent, but the number was expected to be around 150.