Thursday, August 11, 2005

NATO: 2,000 African Union peacekeepers airlifted to Darfur

NATO HQ in Brussels, Belgium confirms 2,000 African Union peacekeepers airlifted to Darfur. NATO update August 3-10, 2005:
"In July, NATO has airlifted over 1,300 additional African Union peacekeepers into Darfur. The Alliance will continue to airlift additional peacekeepers into Darfur in August and September.

NATO agreed on 8 June 2005 to help the African Union expand its peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

NATO's airlift mission began on 1 July. Since then United States C-130 and C-17 aircraft has moved approximately 680 troops to the region, while the United Kingdom supported the airlift of another 680 troops.

The Alliance's support is being closely coordinated with the African Union and with other international actors, particularly the European Union and the United Nations.

In addition to further airlifts, NATO will help to train African Union personnel in key headquarters functions such as command and control, logistics and planning.
Further details on the airlift operation in yesterday's post here at Sudan Watch.
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First NATO airlift of civilian police into Darfur

NATO update August 7-10, 2005:
On 7 August, NATO airlifted a team of 49 African Union civilian police as well as an additional 533 military peacekeepers into Darfur.

This is the first time that NATO has assisted in airlifting civilian police into Darfur. The airlift was carried out by the United States, in the framework of the Alliance's support to the African Union.

Enhancing NATO's support

Since July, the Alliance has been helping the African Union strengthen its peacekeeping mission in the region by airlifting forces from African troop-contributing countries into Darfur.

To date it has airlifted about 1,900 African troops into the region.

At the beginning of August, the African Union requested that NATO also assist in the transport of civilian police.

The North Atlantic Council, the Alliance's principal decision-making body, agreed to the request on 5 August. It is being carried out in close coordination with the European Union, which has the lead on police matters in Darfur.

Further airlifts are scheduled for September.
Background

NATO:  2000 AU troops airlifted to Darfur

Re NATO's assistance to the African Union for Darfur, see NATO's article What does this mean in practice?

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope that America will send troops to Darfur. This will show the world that we are serious in wanting to stop genocide.

Anonymous said...

Could somebody please send me the email address for Gerard Prunier? I wish to ask him some questions about his book on Darfur. My email address is alexb@netacc.net.

Anonymous said...

Could somebody please send me the email address for Gerard Prunier? I wish to ask him some questions about his book on Darfur. My email address is alexb@netacc.net.