African Union says force in Darfur reaches 1,400

ADDIS ABABA, Feb 4 (Reuters) – The African Union said on Friday its protection force in Sudan’s western Darfur region had reached 1,401 soldiers after the deployment of 339 troops from Nigeria, Senegal and Kenya.

Nigerian soldiers arrive in El-Fasher.

AU spokesman Assane Ba said South Africa and Tanzania were expected to soon provide 196 troops each, but no date for their arrival has yet been set. The soldiers are there to monitor a ceasefire between Darfur rebels and the Sudanese government.

The United Nations is expected to consider imposing sanctions on Sudan after an investigation panel this week alleged gross violations of human rights by government-backed militia and rebels. The two-year-old conflict there has killed about 70,000 people and driven 1.8 million from their homes.

The African Union force in Darfur is ultimately supposed have 3,320 troops, but it has grown slowly because the pan-African body is relying on foreign aid to pay for it.

So far, the AU has received $186.7 million of the $221 million it budgeted for the Darfur operations, Ba said.

Contractors building the camps to house the troops are also still behind schedule, Ba said.