US flying African peacekeepers to Sudan

WASHINGTON, DC, Oct 21, 2004 (UPI) — Thirty U.S. Air Force personnel are in Kigali, Rwanda, Thursday to begin preparations to airlift additional peacekeepers into the Darfur region of Sudan.

Members of the U.S. Air Force board a C-130 aircraft at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, early Friday, Oct. 22, 2004. Three Ramstein C-130 aircraft and approximately 90 airmen departed Ramstein Friday morning for Kigali, Rwanda, to begin an airlift mission to the Darfur region of Sudan. The airmen and two of the C-130s from the 38th Airlift Squadron will transport Rwandan peacekeepers to the Darfur region over a two-week period. (AP).

A bloody civil war has created a major humanitarian crisis for Sudan’s black population, which are being victimized by Arab Sudanese forces.

The two-week airlift will begin in several days, and comes as a result of a decision Wednesday by the African Union Peace and Security Council to expand the peacekeeping force in Darfur to 3,500.

Ninety more Americans from airbases in England and Germany will follow the initial team to Rwanda in several days to begin the airlift. They will be using two C-130s to ferry personnel and supplies into Sudan.

Australia, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, France and the Netherlands are also contributing aircraft and forces to the airlift.

“This is an extremely important mission, and as members of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. military, we’re looking forward to supporting the AU in its effort to mitigate the humanitarian crisis that’s taking place in the Darfur region,” said Col. Robert Baine, the deployed U.S. commander for this mission.

“My advanced team and I will put together a platform of operations so that when the C-130s arrive, we’re ready to hit the ground running.”