Algeria, Egypt and Libya have each told the Arab League they are prepared to contribute armed personnel to a multinational force operating in Sudan's Darfur region, according to a League official overseeing the Darfur file.
The three countries conveyed their willingness at an Arab foreign ministers' meeting in Cairo on 8 August 2004. At that session, ministers urged nations holding membership in both the African Union (AU) and the Arab League to provide soldiers for a force protecting ceasefire monitors in the region.
An initial contingent of 150 Rwandan soldiers under AU command has already arrived in Sudan, with a further 150 troops from Nigeria expected before the end of the month. Sudanese authorities have accepted the deployment but cautioned against expanding the mission into a broader peacekeeping operation.
Separately, delegates from 10 Arab professional unions, including doctors, journalists and engineers, along with representatives of the Arab National Congress and the Muslim National Congress, departed Cairo on Sunday for a week-long visit to Darfur. The delegation, led by physicians union president Abdelmoneim Abul-Futh, is expected to submit findings to the United Nations upon its return.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in August 2004, in its own words.