SUDAN: The first contingent of United Nations troops arrived in south Sudan yesterday to prepare the ground for the eventual deployment of a 10,000-strong peacekeeping force.
International donors last week promised $4.5 billion of aid to help kick-start reconstruction of a country ravaged by 21 years of civil war but much of the south remains volatile as armed militias continue to clash.
Yesterday, a UN spokeswoman said 44 officers from the multinational force would spend two days assessing the southern towns of Malakal, Wau and Juba to prepare the ground for the main peacekeeping mission.
The UN Security Council last month approved a 10,000-strong force to bolster a peace deal signed in January.
Meanwhile, talks in Nairobi aimed at relieving tensions between the rival southern militias ended yesterday amid criticism that several notorious warlords were absent.
Observers warned that without figures such as Gabriel Tanginya and Paulino Matip, who both command heavily armed militia, reconciliation attempts would be worthless.
Two million people died during the civil war.