More than 600 South African troops will be deployed in Burundi over the next few days, and a total of two South African battalions - nearly 1 500 soldiers - could eventually be sent to that country to bolster a transitional government, Nelson Mandela said on Friday.
Mandela, official facilitator of the Burundi peace negotiations, said that in "another breakthrough" for peace efforts, Burundi's defence minister had met him in Johannesburg on Thursday and agreed that two South African battalions could be deployed. Burundian President Pierre Buyoya had confirmed this to him in a phone call.
Previously, Burundi's government had resisted such a big South African force entering the country, and expressed concern that this would impinge on its national sovereignty. The South African National Defence Force, on the other hand, wanted to deploy a larger force for self-protection.
The South African cabinet on Wednesday approved the deployment of South African troops, subject to United Nations approval. SA's ambassador to the UN, Dumisani Kumalo, said on Thursday he expected the Security Council would pass the necessary resolution on Friday night.
In an interview on Friday, Mandela expressed no doubt that the UN would give the go-ahead, saying UN secretary-general Kofi Annan had offered his full support in a telephone conversation with him.
Mandela also said Belgian Prime MInister Guy Verhofstadt and EU Commission president Romano Prodi had recently promised him financial support for the South African deployment - provided it was not a military mission. Mandela said they had told him they were not allowed to fund military missions.
The South African troops' mission will be non-military in the sense that it will perform a police function, acting as a VIP protection force, mainly guarding the many exiles who are set to return to Burundi to participate in the multiparty transitional government and who fear for their safety inside Burundi.
The two Hutu rebel groups fighting the Tutsi Burundian government have said they will accept the presence in Burundi of a South African force that confines itself to this bodyguard function. However, some hardline Tutsi parties have dubbed it a "foreign occupation force" and vowed to resist it.
Mandela said it might not be necessary to deploy the full two South African battalions. Because of the need to guard the transitional government due to be established on November 1, an initial force of at least 600 South African troops would enter Burundi before then. The rest would go in later, if needed.
The initial South African contingent could instead be replaced by troops of other African nations that have agreed to participate. Nigerian troops would deploy in Burundi on December 1 and troops from Ghana and Senegal might be deployed later.
Mandela said he was greatly encouraged by the latest moves, including the Burundian government's agreement to accept the deployment of two South African battalions. - Foreign Editor