US embassy cable - 05LILONGWE573

UNCLAS LILONGWE 000573 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO AF/S, INR/AA 
SECSTATE FOR ACOTA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, CIA, POL MIL 
SUBJECT: MALAWI TO SEND BATTALION TO SUDAN; COMPANY TO DRC 
 
1. Summary: General Marko Chiziko, Commander of the Malawian 
Defense Force (MDF), says Malawi will send an infantry 
battalion to the Sudan under the auspices of the United 
Nations.  Malawi is also sending a communications company for 
peacekeeping in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. End 
Summary. 
 
2. General Chiziko told PolOff in a meeting on June 27th that 
the MDF has been training a battalion of 780 peacekeepers for 
the past four months, and will send them to join the U.N. 
effort in the Sudan.  He said he was hoping to hear any day 
when exactly the U.N. would want them, and expected they 
would leave in late August or September.  He also requested 
assistance in transportation for the troops, as well as 
supplies including tanks, generators, camp beds, water 
purification devices, and computers. 
 
3.  The General also said that the MDF will send a 180-man 
communications company to the D.R.C., and that a U.N. 
delegation will be in country to assess their equipment 
levels from July 15 - July 25. 
 
4. Comment: If the MDF does indeed commit a battalion-level 
force to the Sudan it will be the largest peacekeeping 
operation Malawi has ever undertaken.  They were apparently 
told by the U.N. that if they wanted to be involved, they had 
to commit a full battalion.  With both the battalion bound 
for Sudan and the Company headed to the DRC, it will push the 
total forces deployed to around 1,000, around 15% of the 
total MDF. 
 
GILMOUR