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Additional battalion for Congo polls

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Army will send an additional battalion to Congo to monitor the next month elections. The 2 Raj Rifles battalion is expected to leave mid-July, official sources said.

The Indian Army has a clean record in United Nations operations. It is the third largest contributor to peacekeeping operations; it has three battalions — 15 Kumaon, 2/11 Gorkha Rifles, 5 Gorkha Rifles — along with components of other units and the Headquarters 301 Infantry Brigade in Congo. Last year, it lost two soldiers there. Interestingly, the infantry battalions are operating in close proximity to a Pakistani brigade but are not under their command.

Capt. G.S. Salaria was awarded the Param Vir Chakra during for his valiant actions in Congo in the early 1960s.

The U.N. has its largest military peacekeeping operation in Congo, with 16,000 personnel deployed across the country to curb rebels.

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