Annan praises Dhaka

As of April 30, Bangladeshi peacekeepers numbered 7942, Pakistani peacekeepers 9782 and Indian peacekeepers 6081.

In a message on the occasion of International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers to be observed on May 29, Annan paid tribute to 115 peacekeepers from 39 countries who were killed in various operation last year.

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Thirty-nine peacekeepers were also killed this year. Among them are nine Bangladeshi soldiers who were killed in Congo in February in the worst single attack on peacekeepers in more than a decade.

"With sadness and pride, we pay tribute to each and every one of our fallen colleagues," Annan said. Currently, more than 66,000 uniformed personnel and about 15,000 civilians are serving in 17 peacekeeping missions around the world.

Meanwhile, a strong contingent of 1,673 Bangladeshi soldiers are on way to join the UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan to support the implementation of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Bangladesh, one of the top contributors to the UN peacekeeping missions in different troubled pockets of the world, is sending its blue helmets to Sudan under UN Security Council resolution-1590 adopted on March 24.

ISPR Director Lt Colonel Nazrul Islam told UNB that the first batch of 200 peacekeepers already left for Nairobi and the entire deployment is likely to be completed by October 21. They will be posted at Juba in Sector 1 in the African country.

The blue helmets would police the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement. Their tasks are to investigate violence, monitor movements of armed groups and assist establishment of the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme.

With the deployment in Sudan, Bangladesh's total strengths in UN peacekeeping forces would rise to 9,862.

At present, the Bangladeshi peacekeepers are deployed in 12 countries -- Afghanistan, Burundi, Congo, East Timor, Ethiopia/Eritrea, Georgia, Ivory Coast, Kosovo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Western Sahara.