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| Africa: Horn |
| Germany to Send Troops to Sudan |
| 2004-11-20 |
| Germany will send troops to Sudan to support African Union peacekeeping efforts in the war-torn region of Darfur. On Friday, Sudan's government and southern rebels agreed to reach a peace deal by the end of the year. The signing of the resolution to end 21 years of civil war in Sudan took place at a special session of the United Nations Security Council in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Sudan's government and its southern rebel foes promised to end Africa's longest running civil war by Dec. 31. Just ahead of the signing, the German government said it would pledge around 200 soldiers plus air transport capabilities to the African Union's mission in charge of monitoring peace efforts in Sudan. Government spokesman Bela Anda said African Union troops from Nigeria, Rwanda, the Gambia and Tanzania are to be given logistical support for their deployment in the crisis region of Darfur. "The aim of the mission is to contribute to a stabilization of the region by supporting relief efforts and by helping protect the population there," he said. "Germany's armed forces will support the deployment of peacekeeping troops by providing military transport capabilities." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Germany has fit for military service males age 15-49: 17,800,862 Yes, but 99.999 percent of those are either in school, unemployed or ideologically opposed to firing a gun. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-11-20 10:09:37 PM |
| #1 200 soldiers doesn’t seem like much, but it’s a sizeable effort for Germany. The Bundeswehr is being transformed from a national guard to an army serving in peace missions around the world. There are more than 2,000 German troops currently serving in the NATO peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan. An additional 5,000 troops are stationed in the Balkans. There are currently only about 280,000 soldiers in the Bundeswehr and that number is being reduced to 240,000. The Crisis Reaction Force is being increased from 60,000 to 140,000, with a simultaneous reduction in the basic military organization to 100,000 men. Of course to put this in perspective, Germany has fit for military service males age 15-49:17,800,862 (2000 est.) |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-11-20 10:00:02 PM |