More Ethiopian Troops Arrive In Darfur Bolstering Peacekeeping Operation
New York, Dec 17 2008 7:10PM
More than 300 Ethiopian troops arrived in Darfur over the last two days to boost the strength of the joint United
Nations-African Union force, known as UNAMID, deployed earlier this year in an attempt to suppress the violence and
humanitarian suffering in the war-torn Sudanese region.
More personnel from the Ethiopian Infantry Battalion are expected to land in El Geneina, West Darfur by the end of the
week.
Their principal duties will include conducting security patrols, enhancing security and fostering confidence within the
local population, as well as conducting escorts for humanitarian convoys.
The Security Council authorized a UNAMID force of about 26,000 uniformed personnel, including just below 20,000 troops last year. It currently only has around
10,000 personnel, and senior UN officials have repeatedly called on countries to supply the remaining troops and
equipment that are needed.
“Our deployment in Darfur has been slower than I wished despite our best efforts,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told
reporters at his year-end press conference today.
“The joint UN-African Union force will be 60 per cent deployed by year's end, and 85 percent by March of next year. Yet
we still lack mission-critical assets, including helicopters,” he added.
An estimated 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million others displaced from their homes in Darfur since rebels
began fighting Government forces and allied militiamen, known as the Janjaweed, in 2003.
ENDS