160-member BSF team sent to Congo for UN peacekeeping duties

New Delhi: A 160-member Border Security Force (BSF) contingent, comprising 25 women personnel, was on Monday flagged off for deployment with the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, an African nation ravaged by armed conflict and mass displacement.

BSF director general (DG) Daljit Singh Chawdhary and other senior officers met the team at the headquarters of the force here on Lodhi Road. The DG asked them to ensure that the flags of India and the force are held high.

"Your conduct and turnout should be exemplary. You have been trained for the task, and I am sure you will ensure that the flag of the country and the force is held aloft," Chawdhary said.

The action of the force during the recent Operation Sindoor has earned the BSF a "unique" recognition, and you should aim to lead by example, he told the personnel.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the third largest country in Africa, bordering Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Congo has been placed under the United Nations due to internal disturbances.

This 18th BSF contingent, led by Commandant Kailash Singh Mehta, will join the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) located at Beni in that country, a BSF spokesperson said.

The 160-member team has seven officers, nine subordinate officers and 144 other personnel, including a woman medical officer and 24 female constables, he said.

"The contingent will be replacing the 17th BSF contingent, which until now was deployed in Beni and is returning on June 4," he said.

The team underwent an 11-week-long pre-deployment training, including subjects like UN peacekeeping guidelines, standard operating procedures and policies, public order management, human rights and sexual and gender-based violence, and VIP security protection of civilians, the spokesperson said.