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Indian troops all set to leave for Sierra Leone

About 1,700 troops will leave in batches for the strife-torn west African country of Sierra Leone on the United Nations peacekeeping mission, UNAMSIL, which will have an Indian Army officer, Major General V K Jetley, as the force commander.

Maj Gen Jetley, who is the second Indian to be entrusted with such a task in this decade, is leaving tonight to head the 6000-strong force which include troops from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Guinea.

The main responsibility of UNAMSIL will be to create a congenial atmosphere to restore peace in the country and make holding of elections possible. At present, ECOMOG, the military wing of the Economic Community of West African States, is stationed in Sierra Leone to bring the militant Revolutionary United Front closer to the mainstream.

''Our immediate tasks will be to establish reception centres [for those laying down arms] and demobilisation centres besides chalking out reintegration plans,'' said Maj Gen Jetley who expects to put in place the multinational forces at his disposal by the end of this month.

He will take over from another Indian officer Brigadier S C Joshi, who is at present there as the chief military observer.

With its participation in Sierra Leone, India will have the second largest number of troops in UN peacekeeping operations worldwide.

''Our troops are one of the best-trained in the world and they have exposure to all kinds of terrain and climatic conditions from the freezing temperatures of Siachen to the deserts of Rajasthan,'' said Maj Gen Jetley, an infantry officer from the Dogra Regiment.

Addressing the troops today, the Chief of the Army Staff General V P Malik said peacekeeping training has been provided by the Indian Army to enable its officers and soldiers to carry out the mandate of such UN missions.

He said the Indian Army had participated with distinction in UN peacekeeping operations world over since independence including places like Korea, Congo, Cambodia, Somalia, Rwanda, Angola, Mozambique.

''It will be the first Indian contingent to carry the indigenously-made Insas rifles for a mission abroad,'' he said. The army chief later interacted with the troops.

UNI

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