Malawi sends 30 peacekeepers to Darfur

LILONGWE, Dec 11 (Reuters) – Malawi is sending 30 peacekeeping troops to Darfur in Sudan to help quell unrest in the vast desert region, which U.N. observers say is sliding deeper into anarchy after two years of conflict.

The African Union (AU) has deployed 900 ceasefire monitors to Darfur, where about 1.6 million people have fled their homes since February 2003 for fear of attack by Arab militiamen mobilised by the government in a campaign to crush rebels.

The 30-man team of soldiers are part of the AU peacekeeping force and would leave in about five days when logistics were finalised, the Malawi Defence Force Public Information Officer, Colonel Clement Namangale, told Reuters.

He said the team had undergone 13-days of special training.