One third of African Union troops have arrived in Darfur: AU

ADDIS ABABA, Nov 6 (AFP) — One third of troop reinforcements taking part in an expanded African Union peacekeeping force have arrived in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, the pan-African body said on Saturday.

Rwandan troops arrive on a U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo plane at El Fasher airport in Darfur, October 30, 2004 as part of an expanded African Union peacekeeping effort in the violent region of western Sudan.

“We already have 594 soldiers charged with protecting observers deployed on the ground, out of a planned total of 1,703,” said a spokesman for the AU’s conflict management branch.

The African Union is in the process of boosting the strength of its mission in Darfur sevenfold, to some 3,200 personnel, including military observers, troops and civilians.

The AU hopes to achieve this level by the end of November, according to the spokesman Assane Ba.

The AU mission is mainly charged with observing a shaky ceasefire two Darfur rebel groups and the Khartoum government signed in April, but also has a limited mandate to protect civilians in certain circumstances.

Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have died and 1.5 million have been displaced as a result of the conflict in Darfur since two armed groups there began a rebellion in February 2003.

Troops deployed so far include 392 Rwandans and 202 Nigerians, he said, while 345 Nigerians were due to leave around November 15.

South Africa has also agreed to send 256 soldiers, Tanzania and Gambia 196, Chad 40 and Kenya 35, added the spokesman, without saying when these troops would be deployed.

The spokesman also said Senegal had offered to send troops reinforcements but that the AU had yet to examine its offer.

He said an additional 80 military observers, from Egypt, Gambia, Ghana and South Africa, were to arrive by the end of the week, to join 136 observers already on the ground. Their numbers should eventually reach 636, he said.