Portugal's army has been given the go ahead to join the European Union (EU)'s peacekeeping mission in Africa.
A government statement on Thursday said Lisbon will send 30 soldiers in addition to a C-130 military plane to Chad and the Republic of Central Africa in late February for a two-month mission.
The Portuguese troops will protect refugees in the two African countries and assist the international humanitarian efforts in Sudan's Darfur, the statement said.
The EU earlier agreed to deploy 3,500 peacekeeping troops from 14 member states in Chad and Central Africa to protect tens of thousands refugees there.
The EU has been trying to reinforce ties with Africa, Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Severiano Teixeira said. Relationship building with the continent was one of the EU's diplomatic priorities set by Portugal when it took the EU rotating presidency in the second half of 2007.
Portugal's troop deployment was approved by the country's supreme military decision-making body, the Superior Council for National Defense, at the end of a special session.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article