U.S. Air Force planes and airmen from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, will begin carrying African peacekeepers into the western Sudanese region of Darfur starting Friday, the Air Force said.

A team of more than 150 airmen from Ramstein arrived in Kigali, Rwanda, on Thursday to set up logistics and begin operations.

Air Force C-130 Hercules transport planes will transport about 600 African Union peacekeeping troops. They also will return about 200 Rwandan peacekeepers from Darfur back to Kigali. This is the third such mission by U.S. forces since October.

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