South Africa approves deployment of 600 additional troops in Burundi
The cabinet has approved the deployment of 1100 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) troops in Burundi as part of a new African Union (AU) mission there.
The mandate of the force is to protect returning leaders of Burundi's National Liberation Forces (FNL), who signed a cease-fire agreement with the government last year. The FNL were the last remaining Hutu armed group to come into the cease-fire arrangement.
SA has 500 troops in Burundi, whose mission is to protect United Nations (UN) equipment. They stayed under an AU mandate after the departure of UN peacekeepers when the UN operation in Burundi, known by its French acronym Onub, completed its mission at the end of last year. The troops will stay in the country and will be joined by others to make up a total force of 1100.
SA has had a peacekeeping force in Burundi, which borders Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania, for nearly five years. The original mandate under the first ever AU mission was to protect returning political leaders and guard a camp for disarmed fighters. SA will be the sole contributor to this AU Special Task Force.
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23 Février 2007 à 11:09 dans
- zsandf (anglais)
