Jordanian police unit boosts presence of UN-African Union force in Darfur

An advance party of Jordanian police officers arrived in Darfur today ahead of a larger deployment due later this month to strengthen the efforts of the joint United Nations-African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in the strife-torn Sudanese region.

The 46 members of the Jordanian formed police unit (FPU) will be responsible for setting up equipment and accommodation in preparation for the remaining 280 personnel scheduled to arrive on 28 August.

The entire unit will be divided into two and deployed to El Fasher and Kabkabiya in North Darfur state.

FPUs are comprised of police officers who have received specialized training in high-risk operations. Their main task is the protection of civilians, including through conducting community policing, especially in camps housing internally displaced persons (IDPs).

They also assist UN agencies in the delivery of humanitarian aid in Darfur, where some 2.7 million people have been displaced from their homes over the course of six years of conflict pitting Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen against rebel groups.

UNAMID expects to have 19 FPUs once it reaches full strength. Jordan is the fifth country to contribute a unit, following Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and Nigeria. The force is expecting the arrival of a Senegalese FPU later this month.

Established by the Security Council in 2007, the mission is expected to have a total of 26,000 military and police personnel at full deployment.