Thousands UN troops for Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Jan 12, 2005 (UPI) — The United Nations is expected to deploy thousands of observers by mid March to oversee the implementation of a peace agreement in Sudan.

The spokesperson for the United Nations advance mission in the Sudan, Radhia Achouri. (AP).

Radia Ashouri, the U.N. spokeswoman in Khartoum, said Wednesday Secretary-General Kofi Annan will present a detailed plan of the U.N. peace-supporting mission in Sudan to the Security Council on Jan. 25.

She said a Security Council resolution is expected by mid-February after which troops would be deployed within a month.

Ashouri said the size of the international force was not fixed but is expected to range between 9,000 and 10,000 troops.

The Sudanese government and southern rebels from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement signed a landmark peace agreement in Kenya last week ending more than 20 years of civil war in the Arab African country.