By Tesfa-alem Tekle
November 11, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia has finalized preparations to deploy an air force unit and five helicopters to the African Union/United nation Hybrid peace keeping operation (UNAMID) in the troubled Sudan’s Darfur region, State Ministry of Defense said.
Peace keeping centre head within the Ministry Major General Yohanes Gebremeskel today said that Ethiopia will soon be deploying five tactical helicopters and a 200-member air force unit which he said is first of its kind in such operation.
The 26,000member, UNAMID has requested a total of 24 helicopters to effectively carry out its mandate across Darfur region. UN officials in Darfur have cautioned that unless it is well supported with air mobility the hybrid peace keeping Mission in Darfur might fail.
Ethiopia’s infantry battalion has successfully accomplished its peace keeping mission in Burundi and Rwanda and it is currently also playing significant role in the peace keeping operations in Liberia and Darfur.
The Ethiopian military official reaffirmed country’s commitment to take part in continent’s similar peace keeping operations up on request in the future.
Ethiopia has already deployed 1,600-member infantry battalion, one multi-role logistic and a transport company as well as an information unit in Darfur, Yohanes said adding that an additional logistic unit and water well drilling groups will also be deployed in the future.
Ethiopia ranks 10th from the 118 UN member countries and 5th from African in deploying peacekeepers, according to Yahanes.
According to international experts, conflict in Darfur has cost the lives of an estimated 300,000 people but Khartoum puts this figure far lower. It has also forced over 2.7 million to displace.
(ST)
حركة العدل و المساواة السودانية
موقع متخصص بنقل آخر الأخبار و البيانات و القرارات لحركة العدل و المساواة السودانية