First team of Vietnamese peacekeeping engineering unit arrives at UNISFA
A 28-member advance team of the Vietnam’s Military Engineering Unit Rotation 1 deployed safely to the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) on May 5 after a 3-day trip.
Senior Colonel Mac Duc Trong, Vice Director of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, heads the Engineering Unit Rotation 1 and commands the Vietnamese peacekeeping force at UNISFA.
The team will receive barracks for the Vietnamese peacekeepers at the mission and equipment transported from Vietnam via the sea route.
The first comers will also make preparations for the remaining 156 personnel of the unit, who will be deployed in mid-May.
This is the first time Vietnam has sent military engineers to join UN peacekeeping operations. It is the unit-level formation with the largest number of members ever participating in UN peacekeeping missions.
The staff members of the Engineering Unit Rotation 1, which debuted on November 17, 2011, will help provide humanitarian assistance and support the UN delegations in keeping and re-establishing peace in the area.
They will also ensure transport, perform road maintenance, help reconstruct the UN base, and provide support for the local community by building community houses, schools, and other public facilities, according to VNA.
