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East African countries to contribute troops to monitor South Sudan ceasefire
East African states agreed on Thursday to deploy troops in South Sudan by mid-April to help enforce a ceasefire deal between government forces and rebels, the chief mediator in peace talks between the 2 sides said.
South Sudan’s neighbors fear unrest in the world’s newest country could spill beyond its borders and destabilize the region which has in recent years enjoyed strong economic growth.
At a summit in the Ethiopian capital, leaders from the regional bloc – the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) agreed to a force whose mandate would be “protection and deterrence”, an official said, including the protection of vital installations such as oilfields.
“These troops are envisaged to be on the ground by no later than mid-April,” Seyoum Mesfin, chief mediator of the peace talks between South Sudan’s feuding sides, told journalists.
Ethiopia, Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda will contribute troops while Djibouti is also expected to join, he said.
All except Rwanda already contribute to the 22,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia which is battling al-Qaeda-linked militants – the al-Shabaab.
Rwanda has sent peacekeepers to the Sudanese region of Darfur and Central African Republic.
