Delegation here to learn from the country’s experience

KIGALI - A four-man delegation from Tanzania led by Brig Gen. F.A Mohamed is in the country on a study tour to learn from Rwanda’s experience in peacekeeping missions.

The delegation arrived in the country yesterday and met with the Chief of Defence Staff of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) Gen James Kabarebe.

Speaking after his meeting with Kabarebe, Gen Mohamed who is the Commander of Operations in the Tanzania Peoples Defence Forces said that his country will soon deploy its first peacekeeping contingent to the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan.

"We are in the country to share experience with our counterparts on the peacekeeping mission in Darfur before we deploy our troops,” said Mohamed, adding that so far the two forces of Rwanda and Tanzania have good relations.

Rwanda has maintained a contingent of troops in Darfur since 2003.

Tanzania is expected to deploy 1,000 troops to Darfur as part of the hybrid mission by the African Union and United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and its first contingent will leave for Sudan next month.

According to Lt. Col Peter Kalimba who is in charge of support operations in the RDF, Rwanda demonstrated to the Tanzanian delegation how it prepares its forces and how to address both military and administrative challenges.

Gen Mohamed had on his entourage Col. N.C Lumbaba who is also the Defence Advisor, Maj. M.J Kampinga and Capt. H.P Mshana.

During their stay in the country they are expected to visit the two Military Academies of Nyakinama and Gako and later also visit Mutobo Reintegration Camp for ex-combatants.

Tanzania’s contribution top peacekeeping in Darfur is expected boost the mission with much needed troops.

International experts estimate about 2.5 million people have been forced from their homes in the last five years in Darfur while hundreds of thousands have lost their lives in the internal conflict.

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