SA sends more troops to Sudan

2007-11-08 08:21

Cape Town - South Africa is to send an extra 100 peacekeepers to the strife-torn Darfur region of western Sudan, says the government after talks between the heads of state from the two countries.

Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said: "We will have 800 troops in Sudan by the end of December." He was speaking after a joint media conference by President Thabo Mbeki and his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Beshir in Cape Town.

SA had about 700 troops on duty in western Sudan, forming nearly 10% of an African Union force that had battled to keep the peace there and was due to be boosted by blue-helmet United Nations troops.

Mbeki said he might be willing to authorise even more troops, depending on forces available given SA's current peacekeeping deployments in countries like Burundi and the Democratic of Congo.

SA might add more troops

He said: "Yes we would look at that, bearing in mind our other commitments," He responded when asked whether SA would contribute more forces to a hybrid AU-United Nations force eventually meant to number about 26 000.

Mbeki said: "We are looking at that because we are committed to making a contribution to the resolution of this matter. We are looking at what is required."

Lekota later said that SA would wait to see what was pledged towards the hybrid force by other African nations before considering which gaps it could fill.

The infantry requirement had already been oversubscribed and SA would likely have to provide more technical help, said Lekota.

He would not be drawn on whether SA would provide helicopters or other military hardware.

Beshir had been accused of dragging his heels over the deployment of the beefed-up force, which he finally agreed to in July.

Beshir committed to speedy deployment

He told journalists on Wednesday the UN was to blame for delays in the deployment.

"As soon as the resolution was passed concerning the hybrid operation, the UN chief was supposed to present a budget to the Security Council, but unfortunately up to now that has not happened," he said.

He added all agreements required for the deployment were already in place. "No new agreement is going to be signed," Beshir said.

Beshir was speaking on the third and final day of a visit to SA, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Mbeki said Beshir shared a commitment to speedy deployment of the hybrid force and the resolution of the Darfur conflict between rebels and a pro-government militia.

He expressed disappointment that some Sudanese rebel groups recently boycotted peace talks in Libya.

According to him: "The international community really does need to push that, to make sure that everybody joins that process, because this is a critical element to the resolution of the conflict in Darfur. We need to bring in everybody."

- AFP