The last batch of 142 Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) peacekeepers serving under the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) arrived in the country yesterday, after completing their one-year tour of duty.
The last batch of 142 Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) peacekeepers serving under the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) arrived in the country yesterday, after completing their one-year tour of duty.
They are part of the First Battalion of 850 troops that has been commended for not only ensuring peace and security in the continent’s youngest state, but also engaged in outreach activities.
This is one of the two battalions that Rwanda maintains in South Sudan.
Col. Mutara Nkuranga, the contingent commander, said they supported South Sudanese civilians through different activities in addition to peacekeeping duties.
"We worked with civilians to build an 8 classroom block at Kapur Primary School. Children had been learning under trees, and we did this through Umuganda and we collected money to buy iron sheets and set up water tanks at the school,” Nkuranga said on arrival at Kigali International Airport yesterday.
He said by working with the locals in community voluntary work, Umuganda, they did not only help set up a school, but also fostered reconciliation among warring tribes.
The South Sudan conflict, which began in November 2013 after a fallout between President Salva Kiir and his then deputy Riek Machar, has seen the the country plunge into tribal conflict.
"We also conducted medical camps where our doctors went to communities and people with various ailments, among other activities,” he said.
At the airport, Defence and Military spokesperson, Brig Gen Joseph Nzabamwita commended the forces for the job well done.
"We congratulate our troops for their work in supporting peace operations in a friendly country that we share the Northern Corridor and related projects,” he said.
The troops were urged to maintain the discipline that characterised their tour of duty.
UNMISS was created to help South Sudan consolidate its new institutions and gain stability after they succeeded from Sudan in 2011 to become an independent state. The Mission was strengthened in 2013 after the wrangles between Kiir and Machar broke out.
The crisis has displaced an estimated 1.5 million people and placed more than 7 million at risk of hunger and disease, with thousands of lives lost.
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