Two New Zealand Defence Force personnel begin a one-year peacekeeping mission in Sudan next month. The pair will be military observers in the United Nations mission in the strife-torn country. A third officer may deploy later this year as part of the mission’s headquarters staff in southern Sudan.
The observers will be working alongside personnel from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Egypt.
The peacekeeping mission in Sudan was established following a UN resolution passed in March, and will support the peace agreement signed between warring Sudanese parties in January. About four million dollars has been contributed directly to humanitarian relief efforts in Darfur, in western Sudan, in the last year by the New Zealand government.
Meanwhile, the NZDF missions in Mozambique and Sierra Leone end this month. New Zealand soldiers have been involved in demining in Mozambique since the early 1990s, when up to 25 Kiwis were there at any one time, teaching locals how to clear mines from the ground. In recent years the number of deminers from New Zealand working in the east African country has dropped to two, with about 500 Mozambicans running the demining programme.
The NZDF has been contributing peacekeepers to the United Nations mission in Sierra Leone since 1998. Friction began in the country over the uneven distribution of wealth, and the Sierra Leone army, feeling it was suffering most, staged a coup in 1997. Rebel factions took over in the eastern and northern regions, and a military junta took power. In recent years, New Zealand peacekeepers in Sierra Leone have patrolled villages and towns to identify problems which may affect security, and have completed many others tasks, including helping in local elections. The New Zealanders have worked with peacekeepers from Defence Forces throughout the world, including the United Kingdom, Russia, Egypt, Kenya, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Canada. Among the first sent there were officers who joined a 40- strong group of UN military observers to monitor at the humanitarian situation, and monitor events.
Above, Major Chris Allan with locals, while below, NZ Army engineer Lieutenant Colonel Paul Curry works with deminers in Mozambique.