Peacekeepers off to Liberia

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi saw off 1,800 peacekeepers on Wednesday who are being deployed to war-torn Liberia.

He told the troops – who will be under the UN peacekeeping umbrella - that their mission was crucial to ensure peace on the continent.

But the deployment comes just days after some of the worst violence since the UN peacekeepers arrived in Liberia in August. It also comes as the UN suspended its campaign to disarm warring factions after being swamped with weapons from thousands of ex-fighters.

“Liberia has been supporting the Ethiopian cause,” Meles told the peacekeepers at the Ethiopian Armed Forces headquarters in Addis Ababa. “Now it is our time to support their cause.”

Brigade commander Colonel Gebremedhin Sekare said his troops, who will join a 5,000 strong force, had undergone six months of training ahead of the year-long mission.

The training included international human rights law and child rights conventions, military officials said.

Ethiopia has previously provided peacekeepers to regions in Africa, until the bitter war with neighbouring Eritrea broke out in May 1998.