Bangladesh tops in blue helmet duty

Main Ullah Chowdhury

Bangladesh has regained its position as the top country in sending troops in the UN peacekeeping missions across the world and appointed Major General Md Main Ullah Chowdhury as the deputy force commander in UN mission in South Sudan for one year.

Inter Services Public Relations Directorate on Saturday confirmed both the information in two statements.

The 10th Infantry Division general officer commanding Major General Md Main Ullah Chowdhury of 17 BMA Long Course has been leading the Ramu Cantonment in Rohingya-populated Cox’s Bazar for one year and eight months.

He was appointed at the deputy force commander for the UN mission in South Sudan, which became independent on July 9, 2011.

Bangladesh has sent 6,731 peacekeepers to the UN peacekeeping operation paving the way to reclaim the country’s first place among peacekeeper sending countries, said a statement.

The United Nations stated that Bangladesh was one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping operations and first South Asian nation deploying uniformed personnel to serve with the organisation in 1988 during armistice between Iran and Iraq.

For the past decade, Bangladesh was the largest contributor in 2011, 2014 and 2015, second largest in 2012, 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2018, third in 2019 while fourth largest in 2016.

The Bangladeshi peacekeepers are currently involved in 8 of the 13 UN peacekeeping operations in Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Western Sahara, Mali, Central African Republic, Yemen and Lebanon. 

Over the past 32 years, 1,46,095 Bangladeshi peacekeepers have successfully completed 54 operations in about 40 countries.

As of March, 150 Bangladeshis laid down their lives in different missions, including 25 in Sierra Leone operation.