52 RSLAF PERSONNEL ARE DEPLOYED IN 15 PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS AROUND THE WORLD”, SAYS DIRECTOR OF PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS

Freetown, Sierra Leone, September 26, 2019 – The Director of PeaceKeeping Operations at Ministry of Defence, Colonel ABS Bah has confirmed that a total of 52 RSLAF personnel are currently deployed as staff officers and military observers in 10 different AU and UN missions around the world.

Outlining the various AU and UN missions, Colonel Bah said five RSLAF personnel are currently deployed with United Nations-Africa Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), twenty with United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), nine with African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), three with United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), four with United Nations Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), three with United Nations Interim Force in Labanon (UNIFIL), three with United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Central Africa Republic (MINUSCA), two with United Nations Mission to Support Hudayah Agreement (UNMHA), one with United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and two with United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).

“Out of the 52 personnel on the various AU and UN missions, 15 are female officers, which represent 26.3% of RSLAF female participation in the various peace support operations in the world”, Colonel Bah explained. “These female officers are working in eight different missions AU and UN missions, namely UNAMID, MINUSMA, AMISOM, UNSOM, UNISFA, UNIFIL, MINUSCA and MONUSCO”. Colonel Bah pointed out that MINUSCA and MONUSCO are the only two peacekeeping missions in which all the RSLAF personnel are women.

The Director of Peace Keeping Operations said that RSLAF was poised to assign peacekeeping role to women in accordance with UN policy on Peace Support Operations. “In any future peace keeping operations involving the deployment of a battalion of 850 personnel, our female personnel will constitute 15%”, he revealed.

Colonel Bah noted that the strength of female personnel in the RSLAF has considerably increased with the completion of military training of the 59 newly commissioned female officers and 268 female soldiers. “These female officers and soldiers will play active roles in future peacekeeping operations”, he maintained.

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Furthermore, for any media query, please contact the following:

1. Group Captain John Gbondo
Director, Defence Public Relations and Information
Phone/WhatsApp: +232 76 750 557

2. lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Bangura
Staff Officer Grade 1, Defence Public Relations and Information
Phone/WhatsApp: +232 78 252 625

3. Major Yayah Brima
Staff Officer Grade 2, Defence Public Relations and Information
Phone/WhatsApp: +232 78 452 876