India sends troops for UN peace-keeping mission to Sudan

Keeping up with its tradition of participating in international peace keeping activities Gp Capt TA Dayasagar led IAF peace-keeping mission to the African state of Sudan has been flagged off by Director General (Inspection & Safety) Air Marshal TS Randhawa on Wednesday. Addressing the Sudan bound Air Warriors, Air Marshal Randhawa said, “You are the ambassadors of peace and the Nation has very high expectations from you in terms of discipline, integrity and professional standards. Your predecessors have set high standards and you should aim to achieve even higher standards”.

The contingent comprises 196 IAF personnel of diverse specializations. Flying operations, administration, logistics, technical and medical services from a part of the base set up in Sudan as the contingent is modelled on the lines of a regular Air Force base. The contingent includes six Mi-17 utility helicopters. The twin purpose of the contingent is to provide mobility to the UN staff/forces and logistical support.

The Mi-17s would be primarily used for troop insertion/extraction, casualty evacuation, logistic supply, search and rescue, reconnaissance and observation. The Indian contingent would also be maintaining an Aero Medical Evacuation Team at Sudan.

Sudan has been in a state of turmoil since it attained freedom in 1956. Indian Armed Forces have been contributing to peace missions in the strife torn state since 2005 and have proved instrumental in bringing a semblance of normalcy to the state. Currently the Indian Air Force has one aviation contingent stationed in Sudan. The departing contingent is to replace the Indian Aviation Contingent headquartered at Kadugali, situated in the South-Central region of Sudan. Apart from IAF missions, the Indian army also has units stationed in Sudan as part of the international UN peace keeping force.