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Troop pledge for Burundi

    JOHANNESBURG

    South Africa is considering sending soldiers as part of a peacekeeping force for Burundi - regardless of whether armed rebels agree to a ceasefire or not, news reports said on Thursday. Deputy President Jacob Zuma was quoted as saying that ex-president Nelson Mandela had asked that South Africa join a peacekeeping operation in the central African country. The general role of the force would be “to ensure that nobody violates the peace”, Zuma said. Zuma added that he was “very hopeful” that negotiations with the two rebel groups for a ceasefire would succeed before a peace force is deployed by 1 November. “That is really what we are looking for,” Zuma said. However, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota is still discussing the details with his counterparts from Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal, who have also agreed to contribute troops to the force, reports said.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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