African Union say U.S. Air Force to fly 237 Rwandan troops to Darfur

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Oct 29, 2004 (AP) — The U.S. Air Force will fly 237 Rwandan troops to the troubled Darfur region of western Sudan to join a tiny African force seeking to stabilize the area, the African Union said Friday.

Troops from the U.S. Air Force’s 86th Airlift Wing unload boxes of weapons upon arrival in the Rwandan capital Kigali October 23, 2004, aboard three U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo planes. The planes will transport Rwandan forces and equipment to Darfur over the next two weeks to assist an African Union peacekeeping effort in the violent region of western Sudan. It is the first U.S. military deployment in the Darfur conflict.

The Rwandan troops will fly out on Saturday to join 50 Nigerian troops deployed in Darfur on Thursday, the African Union said in a statement. The new soldiers are the first of planned reinforcements for the African Union Mission in the Sudan , or AMIS.

“These new deployments, together with the 310 military personnel from Nigeria and Rwanda the A.U. has already sent to Darfur earlier in August, will bring the military component of the AMIS to 597 troops,” the 53-member organization said.

More troops from Nigeria and from other African countries are expected to be deployed in Darfur in the following days to strengthen the mission to 3,320 people by the end of November.

The mission will include 2,341 troops and military observers, 815 civilian police officers as well as civilian personnel, the African Union said.

The crisis Darfur began in February 2003, when rebels launched attacks against the Arab-dominated government, claiming discrimination in the distribution of scarce resources. Pro-government militias called the Janjaweed hit back, attacking Darfur villages.

At least 70,000 people have died, mainly from war-induced diseases, and 1.5 million have fled their homes since the conflict began.