Share & more
The UN peacekeeping force commander, Major General Vijay Jetley of India, arrived in Sierra Leone on Tuesday followed by the first batch of some 141 Indian soldiers, a UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) official in Freetown told IRIN on Wednesday.
"The role we are here to play is to add a peaceful atmosphere for the (disarmament) programme," Reuters quoted Jetley as telling reporters shortly after his arrival.
The Indian troops are at Lungi International Airport while the remainder of the batallion is due to arrive around the end of this week or possibly next week, the UNAMSIL official said.
In addition to the Indian soldiers, the new 6,000-strong UNAMSIL force will be made up of troops from Nigeria, Ghana and Guinea, some of whom are already in the country as part of the Economic Community of West Africa States Peace Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) and also Kenya. An advance party of some 130 Kenyans arrived last week. The arrival of the remainder of the contingent has been delayed by logistical problems but they are expected
this week, the source said.
The duties of the UNAMSIL force and some 223 UN military observers from 30 countries who are already on the ground will include helping the government implement a disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration plan, monitor adherence to the ceasefire and assist in the delivery of humanitarian aid.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
