Ten soldiers from Burundi left Sunday to join African peacekeepers in western Sudan's Darfur region _ the first ever to serve in a foreign mission, sent while their own central African nation struggles to emerge from civil war, AP reported. Army spokesman Maj. Adolphe Manirakiza said the officers would serve for six months as observers, and the African Union would then decide whether to extend their mission. Some 7,000 African troops are in Darfur. Manirakiza said the deployment of Burundians was «a strong sign of the international community's trust in our army.»
