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Stranded Indonesian police unit returns from Darfur
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Helmet and flack jackets of the members of the 1 parachute battalion of a contingent of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) are seen in a photo dated Feb. 14, 2008. (UN Photo/Marie Frechon)
I
ndonesian police personnel from the 8th Formed Police Unit (FPU 8) task force stationed in Sudan have finally returned home after being stranded in Sudan for more than a month for accusations of smuggling weapons and ammunition at El Fasher airport, Darfur.
"Task force FPU 8 took off from the airport of El Fasher Darfur on Saturday, March 4, at 2 p.m. local time," National Police spokesperson Martinus Sitompul said in a statement on Saturday, as quoted by kompas.com. The group arrived at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta on Sunday.
Martinus added that the Indonesian legal aid team would arrive the next day. "[The legal team] accompanying FPU 8 Task Force, will fly with Qatar Airways and arrive in Jakarta on Monday morning," said Martinus.
(Read also: Indonesia probes police unit held in Sudan)
Indonesian Police Commission (Kompolnas) spokesperson Bekto Suprapto welcomed the return of the Indonesian contingent.
"The news from Sudanese media earlier saying that the Indonesian peacekeepers were detained for smuggling weapons, was not true and defamed the name of FPU 8, the police force, nation and state of Indonesia," said Bekto.
According to Bekto, FPU contingent 8 has been praised by the United Nations, police officers from other countries and the people of Sudan. (dis/wit)
