MOSCOW, May 2 (RIA Novosti) - A new group of Russian peacekeepers will fly to Sudan May 3 to join a UN force, the Air Force said Tuesday.
The first group of Russian peacekeepers flew to the North African country April 20 to join the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) by the end of May.
"A second Il-76 aircraft will head for Sudan from Migalovo airport in the [central] Tver Region," the press service said. "It will deliver some 30 metric tons of special and technical equipment to Juba airport, as well as about 10 peacekeepers."
Maj. Gen. Viktor Ivanov, head of the Air Force Army Aviation Directorate, said earlier that the peacekeepers would not be involved in combat missions.
The press service said another two planes would deliver some 60 tons of technical cargo and some 20 people on May 5.
A 21-year bloody civil war ended in Sudan after the Muslim-dominated north and Christians and animists in the south concluded a peace deal in 2005.
On March 24, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1663 extending the UNMIS mandate until September 26, 2006.
Before the first group of Russian peacekeepers was sent to Sudan, UNMIS included 14 Russian military observers and 19 civilian police officers.
