Several dozen Nigerian troops flew to Sudan's violence-wracked Darfur region on Thursday, the first of thousands of soldiers being deployed to bolster a tiny African Union peacekeeping force. The troops flew from Nigeria's capital to al-Fasher, in North Darfur, aboard a U.S. Air Force C-130, an African Union official said by telephone from al-Fasher. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said 43 troops had arrived. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said 47 Nigerian troops had flown in, as did Nigerian Lt. Col. Abubakar Rabiu. The discrepancy in numbers could not immediately be reconciled. The new soldiers were the first of planned reinforcements for the 390-member African Union mission in Darfur, a region the size of France. The mission is to be expanded to 3,320 people by the end of November.| Perfect cover for our Green Beret mission. |
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