Indian Army will be sending an infantry battalion next month for the United Nations peacekeeping operations in the oil-rich Abyei region in Africa, located between northern and southern Sudan, and is the bone of contention between them.
The infantry battalion which will be sent by India consists of 570 soldiers and they will be deployed under the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). UNISFA is authorized to monitor the volatile border between North and South Sudan and also to use force in safeguarding civilian and humanitarian workers Abyei.
Indian Army has currently deployed around 5300 troops in 8 of the 12 UN ongoing missions around the world and is the third largest army to contribute to peacekeeping operations after Nepal and Bangladesh.
The decision to send another infantry battalion comes in the backdrop of India’s ongoing two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council since January 2021.
