Navy May Help With Peacekeeping in Liberia.
BUJUMBURA The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has recommended to government that it deploy the navy to help with peacekeeping in Liberia.
"We are ready to deploy in five days if asked by the president," the chief of the SANDF, Gen Siphiwe Nyanda, said.
If SA goes ahead and provides naval forces for Liberian peacekeeping, this would be a further expansion of SA's rapidly growing peacekeeping role in Africa. So far, SA has about 2400 troops divided between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.
If government approves the Liberian deployment, the navy would send the SAS Drakensberg supply ship and a strike craft for its protection.
This would not be the navy's first peacekeeping operation it is about to become involved in operations on Lake Tanganyika off Burundi and is involved in river patrols in the Congo.
While Nyanda said the full details of the operation still had to be worked out, it was likely that about 150 sailors would be used to help secure supply lines for humanitarian aid.
Nyanda said that details of the operation would depend on talks with Nigerian-led Ecomog forces in Liberia.
Nyanda said South African peacekeeping in Liberia would aim to fill the gap ahead of United Nations peacekeepers entering the country. "We don't know what we will be asked to do; the general concept is that we can help offer security for relief supplies."
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29 Août 2003 à 11:31 dans
- zsandf (anglais)
