South Korea to dispatch 6th batch of peacekepping troops to South Sudan 32302161

Defence & Security News - South Korea
 
South Korea to dispatch 6th batch of peacekepping troops to South Sudan
South Korea will dispatch its 6th batch of peacekeeping troops to South Sudan as part of its mission to help the civil war-torn African country's rebuilding efforts, the Army said Tuesday.
     
South Korea to dispatch 6th batch of peacekepping troops to South Sudan 640 001South Korea peace-keeping (PKO) unit
     
The 270-strong contingent will depart for the United Nations peacekeeping operations based in Bor, located in the Jonglei State of South Sudan, in two groups in late February and mid-March, it said.

South Korea first stationed the rotational PKO forces with the U.N. Mission in South Sudan in March 2013 and has replaced them every eight months to assist the newly independent country's recovery from a destructive civil war.

South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011, but political instability still abounds in the new country, with tens of thousands of people killed or displaced in the ongoing civil war that started in 2013.

The Army said the outgoing 6th group of troops has undergone seven weeks of intense preparations, which focused on training in military engineering and transporting. They also completed drills in countering military and non-military threats in a prompt manner, according to the Army.

The forces are specially equipped with construction, agricultural and solar energy generation skills for the PKO unit's civilian mission designed to reach out to South Sudanese civilians.

"The unit will carry out various rebuilding assistance projects, such as those to repair a bridge connecting Bor to Pibor and to upgrade the runway of Bor Airport," the Army said in a statement.

The Hanbit unit is one of the two contingencies that South Korea currently retains overseas as part of the UN's PKO. (Yonhap)