RDF Deploys in South Sudan - AllAfrica.com

The Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) will today begin to deploy in the new independent state of South Sudan as part of a newly created UN-backed stabilisation mission there.

The first group of the Rwandan contingent, to be part of the United Nations Mission to South Sudan (UNMISS), was expected to leave Kigali International Airport this morning.

The mission was set up last year by the UN Security Council to help consolidate peace security in the world's youngest nation.

"Our troops will leave tomorrow, but the details will be provided at the departure time," said Rwanda's Defence and Army Spokesman, Maj. Rene Ngendahimana.

The Rwandan officers and men will be deployed in the towns of Yambio, Tumbura, Torit and Juba, the capital city, according to RDF sources.

South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan after last year's referendum, is faced with internal conflicts, mainly caused by a breakaway faction of Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), believed to be the champion of the secession cause.

Already, RDF, which has earned itself respect and won accolades for its discipline and professionalism, maintains more than 3,200 troops in Darfur, Sudan.

Sources say the United Nations requested Rwanda to be part of UNMISS, largely due to the country's track record in Darfur and other areas where Rwandan peacekeepers are deployed.

Kigali has already dispatched operational equipment, consisting of military vehicles and tanks, by road, through neighbouring Uganda.

The 850-strong force is equivalent of a battalion.

According to UNMISS website, the mission is supposed to have a least 7,000 troops, including 900 civilian police personnel. Kenya is among the other countries which will contribute to the multinational mission.

Currently, Rwanda has 13 police officers who are helping mentoring the young South Sudanese Police Force.

Sources from Rwanda National Police indicate that another 23 officers will be deployed in South Sudan in the near future.

Among the rebel groups fighting Juba is South Sudan Liberation Movement, which was launched by Lt Gen George Athor Deng, a former general in the SPLA, who was killed last December by government loyalist forces.

In the meantime, concerns remain over continued border tension between Sudan and South Sudan, with either side accusing the other of supporting rebels fighting their government.

But the main reason for the standoff is oil reserves along the border.

South Sudan, which upon secession went with 75 per cent of the oil fields, last month, accused the north of bombarding some of the fields.

In return, the north said they were only defending themselves, counter-accusing the south of taking over the oil-rich area of Heglig, which "originally" fell within the north.

The two sides have yet to agree on how to share oil revenues from disputed areas.

Whereas the south possesses the largest oil fields, the north owns refining and processing facilities, and the pipelines used in transporting the oil.

Both sides have also failed to agree on oil production fees, or on issues like the demarcation of borders and the status of their citizens living on the other side.

South Sudan shut down oil production late January after accusing its northern neighbour of stealing $815 million worth of its oil, through the pipelines. Sudan said it confiscated the crude to make up for unpaid fees to use the pipeline and processing facilities in its territory.

All these skirmishes inevitably put to more risk the lives of civilians, mainly children and women, according to observers.

It remains unclear whether the UN is likely to broaden to UNMISS mandate to include the disputes along the two countries' border.

The timing of Rwanda's deployment in South Sudan is particularly significant, coming in a week the country is commemorating the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

At the time, the world stood by as a genocidal regime unleashed machete-wielding Interahamwe militia on Tutsi civilians, killing more than a million people in a record 100 days.

The Genocide was put to end by the then rebels of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), which has since pacified the country, restored the rule of law and set the nation on an ambitious development path.

It is against that background that Kigali committed to helping protect civilians threatened by genocide and crimes against humanity.

Rwanda first deployed peacekeepers to Darfur in 2004, where violent attacks on black civilian population by government-backed Janjaweed militia were routine at the time.

The Darfur hybrid UN-AU mission, known as UNAMID, the largest peacekeeping mission in the world, is currently headed by Rwanda's Lt Gen Patrick Nyamvumba.

Rwanda also maintains peacekeepers in Liberia, Ivory Coast and Haiti.

The country also provided training to thousands of Somali government armed forces as part of the efforts aimed to restore peace in the war-torn Horn of Africa country.