Gov't to send troops to Liberia

Ethiopia has pledged to send troops under the United Nations peacekeeping umbrella to help maintain order in war-torn Liberia, defence officials said on Wednesday. Ethiopian Defence Minister Abadula Gemeda told the country’s parliament that African countries had been urged by the UN Security Council to support a peacekeeping effort. The move follows the signing of a crucial peace deal between the Liberian government and the main rebel groups in Ghana on Monday. “We have agreed to deploy the Ethiopian army to the Liberia peacekeeping mission,” a spokeswoman for the ministry of defence told IRIN. “This was submitted to parliament and they have approved the proposal.” Preparations are now underway in the armed forced to ensure military readiness for the operation, the defence ministry said. A timescale for troop deployment and the size of the contingent have yet to be determined, the spokeswoman added. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been deploying Nigerian troops in the capital, Monrovia, to restore order after the latest upsurge in the country's long-running civil war. The UN force is expected to arrive in Liberia before 1 October.