A group of 29 Egyptian officers left for the Sudanese capital of Khartoum late Friday to join African Union (AU) peacekeeping forces in Sudan's western Darfur region, the official MENA news agency reported.

This was the first group of Egyptian officers to take part in peacekeeping mission in Darfur. Some 600 Egyptian soldiers will join AU peacekeeping forces.

In late April, the AU decided to increase the number of peacekeeping forces from 2,200 to 7,700 within five months.

The peacekeeping mission has been mandated with monitoring and verifying a ceasefire agreement, helping to set up a program for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants as well as promoting national reconciliation and human rights.

Violence flared up in Darfur in February 2003 as rebels took up arms against the Sudanese government, accusing it of neglect.

AU-sponsored peace talks between the Sudanese government and two rebel groups, Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement, in the Nigerian capital Abuja have so far yielded no major breakthrough.

Source: Xinhua