Nigeria Deploys Another 800 Soldiers To Darfur

The Nigerian Army, on Friday deployed another batch of 800 soldiers to Darfur, the Sudanese capital on peace support operation, in what now seems like a tradition, as some soldiers were deployed sometime last month.     

The troops made up of 43 officers and 767 soldiers, had undergone a four-week pre-deployment training at the Nigerian Army Peacekeeping Centre, Jaji Kaduna.

Addressing the troops during their graduation ceremony at the centre, the General Officer Commanding 82 Division, Major General Adebayo Olaniyi represented by the commander 34 artillery  Brigade,   Brigadier  General  Modibo  Alkali  said irrespective of the  relative peace in Sudan and some other volatile countries in Africa,  Nigeria will continue to  contribute troops for peace support operations in those countries  in  line with its commitment in the United Nations peacekeeping missions.

He advised the contingent to discharge their assignment in line with the mission mandate and also to uphold the cultural values of the people of Sudan, warning them that the Nigerian Army will not condone any situation where its troops are disarmed.

On his part, commandant Nigerian Army Peacekeeping Centre, Major General Zaruwa Uba said the troops have received adequate training to ensure their effective performance in any peace support operations.

So far, Nigeria has participated in over 60 peacekeeping operations in its 53 years of independence, while it has also lost over 2,000 of its soldiers to peacekeeping missions across the globe since it started participating in ECOWAS, United Nations and African Union peacekeeping mission efforts.

Similarly, the country has spent over $10 billion in peacekeeping operations, in either fighting off rebels or restoring peace in different flashpoints globally.