From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african
Subject: IPS:MOZAMBIQUE: BOUTROS-GHALI WANTS TO SEND 8000 TROOPS //RELATE//
Date: 16 Dec 92 02:58:42 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Reference: Europe, western
Title: MOZAMBIQUE: BOUTROS-GHALI WANTS TO SEND 8000 TROOPS //RELATE//


//att.editors. please relate the following story to ''mozambique:
united nations asks italy to send troops'' moved from rome at
1915 gmt//

new york, dec 7 (ips) -- un secretary-general boutros
boutros-ghali has called on the international community to send
8,000 troops to mozambique.

the call came just days after the un security council
authorized the dispatching of a multinational force to somalia.

the aim of the mission to the southern african country would
be to monitor compliance with a peace agreement between the
government and the national resistance movement of mozambique
(renamo), signed in rome in early october.

in a report to the security council, released monday,
boutros-ghali proposed a complex operation combining
military and humanitarian aspects.

the troops would beef up a small un peace-keeping operation
(onumoz) made up of civilian and military observers in
mozambique. so far, onumoz's presence has not prevented both
sides from violating the peace accord.

years of armed conflict coupled with chronic droughts have
created an alarming situation in mozambique, prompting some six
million people out of a total population of just over 15 million
to seek refuge in neighbouring states or in other regions of the
country.

boutros-ghali said the un operation would have to guarantee
the demobilization and disarmament of government and renamo
forces, the creation of a new army and the holding of free
elections in one year's time.

at the same time, it will have to safeguard the distribution
of humanitarian aid, especially food, and the relocation of the
refugees, of whom two million are in neighbouring countries.

the un contingent would also have to guard the main
communication corridors in the country, now under the control of
troops from malawi and zimbabwe, which would then withdraw.

the report stressed that, without adequate humanitarian aid,
the security situation in mozambique could deteriorate and block
the demobilization process. without enough military protection,
the aid will not reach those who need it, the report added.

it emphasized that unless progress is made in the political
sphere, the trust which the disarmament and rehabilitation
process requires would not exist. this would in turn hamper the
holding of elections. (more)
----


if the secretary-general's plan is carried out, onumoz
monitors will be stationed in 49 points in the country. this will
require 8000 soldiers -- five infantry batallions, one batallion
of engineers, three logistical companies and various airborne
communications, medical and surveillance units.

and 1,200 international observers will be needed for the
elections.

in his report, boutros-ghali warned that the operation in
mozambique is a difficult one, but that the international
community had ''to take the risk'' and ensure its success.

unlike the case of somalia, the presence of un observers has
been agreed to by the parties involved in the mozambique
conflict.

while the presence of troops in the east african country was
authorized by the un security council last week, the political
and military control of the contingent will be in the hands of
washington, which proposed the somali operation.

its main objective is to provide relief supplies for millions
of somalis who face death by starvation.
(end/ips/trd/so/mg-cs/kb/92)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african