South African Troops Set to Quit Burundi Amid Improving Security Climate
After near eight years on peacekeeping duty in Burundi, the South African army is set to withdraw as the security situation continues to improve (see Burundi: 30 January 2008: ). According to the chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Joint Operations Division, Lt-Gen Themba Matanzima, whose unit is responsible for planning military operations, the army's mandate in Burundi is due to end tomorrow (30 June), reports the local Business Day.Significance: South Africa has been closely involved in the Burundian peace process ever since Burundi’s long-running civil war first broke out in 1993.
Mandated by the regional African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN), SANDF deployed some 1,100 troops in the landlocked country back in 2001, tasked with peacekeeping in post-war Burundi, but the recent implementation of a peace deal between the Burundian government and the National Liberation Forces (FNL) rebel group effectively ended the civil war, leading to an upturn in the security situation.
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29 Juin 2009 à 12:39 dans
- zsandf (anglais)
