Australian peacekeepers head to Sudan

Posted 9 hours 33 minutes ago

Australia is about to begin its role in the peacekeeping mission to the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur.

The first four Australian Defence Force peacekeepers left Sydney this morning for a six-month stint supporting the United Nations and African Union mission.

A further five Australians will join them in the coming weeks.

The peacekeepers will help coordinate the mission to try to curb the violence in Darfur.

About 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict and more than 2 million people left homeless.