Greece takes over chair of sanctions committee for Sudan

A report today by Athens News Agency says diplomatic sources think the UN sanctions committee for Sudan could play a decisive role in dealing with the crisis in Darfur.

After the conclusion of Friday's Security Council meeting, the Greek UN ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis announced that Greece had been unanimously voted to head the sanctions committee for Sudan, provided for under UN resolution 1591 (2005).

He said the committee will be in charge of monitoring the implementation of specialised sanctions and an arms embargo in the three provinces of Darfur, as well as regularly briefing the Security Council on the progress made, starting from the coming week.
- - -

Nearly 200 Rwandan troops leave for Darfur AU mission

A total of 194 Rwandan troops left Kigali April 30 for Darfur to but they are not part of the long overdue 1,000 AU soldiers who are now expected to be deployed by the end of this month.

The contingent left to replace their compatriots who have been in Darfur for the last six months. The new Rwandan contingent is serving in the AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur along side with Nigeria who are supported by the British Government.



Photo: Rwandan soldiers belonging to the African Union force wait to board a plane to be dispatched to Darfur (AFP). The AU mandate is six months and those leave to Darfur will be replacing their compatriots who left late last year, Lt. Col. Charles Karamba, the research and development officer of the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF), told reporters at Kigali International Airport as the troops board the plane.

Technorati tags: Darfur Sudan Africa