The Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Cote d’Ivoire, Simon Munzu, has decorated 31 Rwandan peacekeepers serving under the United Nations Operations in Ivory Coast commonly known as ‘ONUCI’ in a French acronym, Police source revealed Monday in Kigali.
The ceremony, in which senior UN official awarded the medals of honour to the policemen, took place in three different locations in Cote d’Ivoire, including major cities such as Abidjan, Bouake na Gagnoa, a statement issued by the Rwandan police said.
It is said that UN medals are awarded to peacekeepers who complete three months of service without committing any offence.
“He praised the Rwandans for their “most valuable contribution, ” while also paying special tribute to all those who paid the supreme sacrifice with their lives in an effort to attain peace in the West African state, it said.
With more than 5,000 peacekeeping personnel deployed in different international missions, Rwanda — currently the fifth troop and police contingent contributor to world peace keeping missions — is among few African countries to deploy air assets in UN peacekeeping missions.
The latest contribution of the East African nation to the UN peacekeeping mission was made in November 2014 with the deployment of 225 air force personnel and five helicopters, including three for transport to support the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
In January 2014, Rwandan has also deployed another batch of 800 troops including soldiers and policemen to reinforce the UN peacekeeping troops in the Central Africa Republic. Enditem
Source: Xinhua