Antony's Sudan Trip Tripped by MEA

New Delhi, July 16 (UNI) Defence Minister A K Antony's meeting with the Indian peacekeepers in Sudan appears to have stumbled over a diplomatic roadblock with Khartoum embroiled in an ongoing spat over deployment of UN troops in the troubled Darfur region.

Mr Antony's trip to Sudan and Congo, scheduled for early next month ahead of Parliament's Monsoon Session, appeared set to be called off with the Ministry of External Affairs having already communicated its reservations to the Defence Ministry.

The Defence Minister -- who has already met troops stationed in the Siachen glacier and plans to visit the Kashmir Valley next week -- was very keen to visit Indian UN peacekeepers, saying he wanted to understand the ground situation, the Armed Forces faced.

''They are doing a very good job... I am going to meet them,'' the Minister told the mediapersons on the sidelines of a defence function here last week.

But the visit seems to have become a victim of bad timing.

''The situation in Sudan may force him to cancel... It will be disheartening for soldiers posted in Sudan if the minister visits only Congo... So, the entire thing is likely to be called off,'' experts in Defence Ministry said.

This would have been Mr Antony's second visit abroad after assuming office nine months ago. He had travelled to Singapore in May for the Shangri La Dialogue Regional Security Conference -- a key event for defence and security diplomacy for the Asian region.

Besides, the Minister was slated to travel to Russia in October ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit for the Annual Summit between the two countries.

Before that, Mr Antony would be visiting Indonesia and some other South-East Asian nations - and possibly South Korea - to shore up military ties with these countries as part of India's 'Look East' policy.

Sudan is reportedly upset about the proposed deployment of over 24,000 UN troops in the Darfur region. While the country has agreed -- after tough negotiations -- to allow into the region a 26,000 strong UN-African Union Darfur force, it has expressed reservations over a UN mandate to ''use all necessary means'' to protect citizens.

India is expected to heavily contribute troops to the proposed UN deployment in Darfur. Close to 3,000 Indian troops are currently posted in southern Sudan. They form part of a 10,000 strong force of soldiers and police that was sent to the country in 2005 by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

Besides, a little under 3,000 Indian Army troops serve under the UN flag in Congo, where they are deployed in the restive Katanga province. Earlier this month, 500 were awarded the MONUC (United Nations Organisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) medal for their efforts in maintaining peace in the area.

Apart from these hotspots, the Indian 'Blue Berets' -- as the UN Peacekeepers are termed also serve in Ethiopia/Eritrea, in Lebanon, and on the Golan Heights.

Altogether, some 9,000 Indian Army soldiers and officers are deployed abroad as UN peacekeepers.

UNI