Training of UN peacekeepers for southern Sudan to begin in Kenya

NAIROBI, Jan 21, 2005 (Xinhua) — The training of the United Nations peacekeepers for southern Sudan will begin in Kenyan capital Nairobi next month, officials disclosed here Friday.

A supporter of Sudans Peoples Liberation Movement, SPLM, waves a flag to celebrate Sunday, Jan. 9, 2005, at Nyayo Stadium, Nairobi, Kenya during the signing of Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement. (AP). (AP). .

“All Sudan peace monitors will be trained in Kenya starting in February 15 but we have no say on what the UN does with the names of the peace monitors,” Eric Wilhelmsen, UN chief monitor for Sudan told reporters in Nairobi.

The officers would be trained at the Nairobi-based Defense Staff College — an institution that trains peace monitors from eastern, central and southern African region, Wilhelmsen said.

Kenyan military sources who confirmed that new development said talks between the government and the United Nations are underway to have the peace mission and the troops deployed to the Sudan, but no decisions have been reached.

“Discussions are at advanced stage but no decisions have been reached for the use of our peace support facility. Peace monitors are always undergoing regular training at the facility,” Kenyan military spokesman Bogita Ongeri told Xinhua by telephone.

Ongeri said the United Nations has requested the Kenyan government to offer the training and limited logistical support for the deployment of the peacekeepers.

The officials didn’t confirm when the peacekeepers will be deployed to Sudan, but sources say that might be happening in two or three months.

The African Union has reportedly opposed the move, saying the parties in Sudan are implementing a mutually agreed ceasefire accord, which does not require foreign intervention.

However, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) welcomed the upcoming deployment, saying it was the main pillar of achieving security.

“Generally, we had agreed that there will be some international UN force in Sudan in the next 45 days after the signing of the final peace agreement. It is mostly for disengagement of forces,” the SPLM/A spokesman Samson Kwaje told Xinhua by telephone.

“We are discussing with the UN and other agencies on modalities of deploying the peacekeepers. The African Union would also be involved,” he said.

Kwaje said the mission would act as a barrier between armies from the north and the south, and would also protect other monitors such as human rights groups.

The Sudanese government and southern rebels signed the final comprehensive peace accord in Nairobi on January 9, marking the culmination of two years of peace process to end the 21-year-old civil war in southern Sudan, the longest-running in Africa.

The peace pact covers all the eight peace deals signed previously, including earlier agreed protocols on how to share power and natural wealth, what to do with armed forces during a six-year transition period, how to administer the three disputed areas, and the latest on permanent ceasefire and modalities of implementing peace deals.