Nigerian troops arrive

(29 Oct 2004) SHOTLIST

ALL LIVEWIRE MATERIAL

Abuja, Nigeria
1. US aircraft at Abuja airport
2. Abuja airport sign
3. Nigerian soldiers at airport
4. Set up shot of US Lieutenant Colonel J.R. Reid
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Lieutenant Colonel John Reid, US Air Force mission commander
"The United States, all the men and women that are participating in this, are very happy, very proud, that we can provide this type of assistance and anything that we can do collectively to stem or quell any violence against any people is a good thing."
6. Nigerian soldiers marching
7. Soldiers getting on plane

Darfur, Sudan
7. Plane arrived at Darfur airport
8. Soldiers getting off plane at airport
9. SOUNDBITE (English) AU's mission chief, Ghana's Colonel Anthony Amedoh
"The rotation will follow with the arrival of the Rwandese on Saturday and from then on every day we're having about 50 soldiers from Rwanda and then it will continue with Nigeria until we get about 700 troops here within the next two weeks."
10. Various of soldiers

STORYLINE

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 - numbering 43 - flew from Nigeria's capital to al-Fasher, in northern Darfur, aboard a US Air Force C-130.

US officials had said 47 Nigerian troops had flown in, as did a senior Nigerian military official.

There was no way to immediately reconcile the discrepancy in numbers.

The new soldiers were the first of planned reinforcements for the 390-member African Union mission in Darfur.

The mission is to be expanded to three thousand and 320 people by the end of November.

The expanded force will include 450 unarmed military observers, a major increase from the 80 currently deployed there to investigate and report on violations of a cease-fire between rebel groups fighting government troops and allied militia.

The observers have been protected by an armed security force of 310 troops.

That force will be increased to two thousand and 341.

The new mission will also include 815 civilian police officers and 164 civilian staff.

The crisis in Sudan's western Darfur region began in February 2003 when rebels launched attacks against the Arab-dominated government, claiming discrimination in the distribution of scarce resources.

Pro-government militias - sometimes called janjaweed - hit back, attacking Darfur villages.

Tens of thousands of people have died and one and a half (M) million have fled their homes since February 2003.

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