Denmark to send 45 soldiers to Sudan

STOCKHOLM, Jan 10, 2005 (Xinhua) — Denmark will send 45 soldiers to Sudan to take part in the United Nation’s peace-keeping force there after the peace agreement Khartoum signed with the rebels in south Sudan on Sunday, Ritzau news bureau reported on Monday.
Denish Captain Karsten Engdahl said the Danish soldiers will be part of the headquarters company.

“We expect that our soldiers will work in the headquarters company which is being established. They may work as, for example, drivers, bookkeeping personnel or in intelligence,” he said to Danish newspaper Information.

He said Sudan is not a safe place, so the UN wants soldiers rather than civilian personnel for the work there.

The soldiers will be part of the UN’s standing reactionary force, SHIRBRIG, which is based at Hovelte Kaserne north of Copenhagen.

Commander of the force, Brigadier General Greg Mitchell, expected it will be two weeks before the UN Security Council issues a mandate for the peacekeeping force.

“Then we expect our people will be in place in Sudan within 45 days. That will put them in Sudan at the beginning of March,” said General Mitchell.

Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller welcomed the peace agreement and promised that Denmark will cooperate with a UN request to provide troops.

“The agreement in Sudan is a groundbreaking contribution for peace in the country,” he said. “This historic agreement can increase political stability and economic prosperity in Sudan and the region as a whole.”