"The news report is not true," a military spokesman Major General Wuryanto said.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Military denied reports that Indonesian soldiers belonging to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur (Unamid) were arrested for carrying smuggled arms upon leaving Al Fashir airport.
"The news report is not true," a military spokesman Major General Wuryanto told the press at the military headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Monday.
Earlier on Friday, local media in Sudan reported that the government of North Darfur state has arrested the Indonesian soldiers for carrying smuggled arms when they were about to leave for Indonesia after completing their services.
The report said security personnel at Al Fashir airport seized large amount of weapons and ammunition, which was in possession of a Unamid force.
Responding to the report, Wuryanto claimed that the report was untrue based on the information from some related officers in the field.
The Indonesian military has sought clarification on the issue to Commander of PMMP, Brig. Gen. Marzuki; Sector Commander of Unamid, Brig.Gen. Nur Alamsyah; and Commander of Composite Batallion task force Konga XXXV-B Unamid, Lt. Col. Inf. Singgih Pambudi Arinto.
"They all said that the news report was not true, and the Unamid task force was still carrying out their duties in Sudan until March 2017," Wuryanto added.
Indonesia is involved in two UN peacekeeping missions in Sudan, namely Unamid and Formed Police Unit (FPU), Wuryanto said.
Unamid has been deployed in Darfur since December 2007 with a mandate to stem violence against civilians in the western Sudans region.
It is the worlds second largest international peacekeeping force with an annual budget of US $1.35 billion and almost 20 thousand troops.
UN agencies say there are nearly 2.5 million displaced persons in Darfur, despite the signing of peace agreement in Doha in July 2011.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
