Cambodia to Send Peacekeepers to Africa

Written by DAP NEWS -- Tuesday, 29 September 2009

(Post by CAAI News Media)

Cambodia is to send 42 peacekeeping forces to the Central African Republic and Chad for a peacekeeping mission under the United Nations, the Defense Minister said on Saturday evening.

“Our forces will depart for these counties in November and in early mid-2010, we will send another 80 armed forces light engineering unit to the two countries under the UN peacekeeping mission to look after airports and roads,” Nhim Sovat, director general for general department of politics and international relations of Ministry of National Defense, told DAP News Cambodia.

“Cambodia and the UN have already signed an MoU to deploy the peacekeeping armed forces in Chad and the Central African Republic,” he added. Sem Sovanny, director general of the National Centre for Peacekeeping Forces Management, Mine Clearance, Unexploded Ordnance and Post War Waste, said that the UN will not send their monitors to train and monitor Cambodian armed forces this time as “they have confidence in the abilities and capacities of forces training and our experience in previous times.”

“One achievement the UN said they admire Cambodia for are the pre-health checks, ,” he added.

Cambodia has already taken part in joint military exercises in several countries, such as Indonesia, Mongolia, Bangladesh, and also Sudan’s de-mining activities under the UN peacekeeping mission.

Cambodia will also host military exercises supported by the US under a program titled “Global Peace Operations Initiative or GPOI” which will take place in June or July in 2010.