India to send peacekeeping force to Darfur
Sunday, 10 April , 2005, 10:03
New Delhi: India will soon become the foremost contributor to the United Nations peacekeeping force when it despatches next month a brigade-level group to Sudan.
The Indian Army brigade group bound for Sudan would include two infantry battalions and some mechanised columns, officials said.
They would police Sudan's southern Darfur region, which has been wracked by ethnic conflict between rival Muslim and Christian militia, they said. With this, India would have more than 7,000 troops in peacekeeping role under the UN banner.
India contributing to the UN peacekeeping force in Sudan assumes significance as its oil flagship ONGC Videsh Limited is operating a producing oil field in southern Sudan and has also taken stake in two exploration blocks there.
Protection of the state assets form part of the peacekeeping mandate in Sudan and the officials pointed out that the Indian deployment was being done on request from the the UN Secretary General.
India already has presence in the UN peacekeeping contingents in Lebanon, Eithopia-Eriteria as well as Congo. In Lebanon, the Army has deployed a battalion plus group in Hamas-dominated southern Lebanon, with forces manning posts all along the long border with Israel streching right upto Golan heights.
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