Chinese and Bangladeshi units that will form part of the hybrid (blandede, red.) United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur (UNAMID) have arrived in the war-torn Sudanese region to help in the transition from the existing AU peace operation (AMIS), writes UN News Service.
At the weekend 135 troops from a Chinese engineering company that will eventually number 315 arrived in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, to begin their deployment.
The advance Chinese troops are part of the UN’s support package to AMIS and will help pave the way for the deployment of UNAMID by undertaking work critical to the establishment of the hybrid mission.
A separate Bangladeshi Formed Police Unit (FPU) also arrived in Nyala late last week to begin work supporting AMIS.
UNAMID, which is due to take over from AMIS at the start of next year, will have an estimated 26,000 troops and police officers when it reaches full deployment.
They are tasked with trying to quell the violence and suffering in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and at least 2.2 million others displaced since rebel groups began fighting Government forces and allied militia in 2003.
Kilde: www.un.org
