UN Peacekeeping: 140-member contingent of police leaves for Mali

A 140-member contingent of Bangladesh Police left Dhaka by a charter aircraft on Friday night to join a UN peacekeeping mission in Bamako, the capital of Mali.

Commander Belal Uddin, a superintendent of police, is leading the 70-member Bangladesh Formed Police Unit (BANFPU-1) seventh rotation while SP Muhammad Abdul Wahab is the commander of BANFPU-2 third rotation, having the rest 70 members.

Deputy Inspector General (Welfare) Bashir Uddin Ahmed and officials of the UN Affairs Wing saw them off at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, said a press release sent by Sohel Rana, assistant inspector general of Police Headquarters.

Police members have been serving in the UN peacekeeping mission in Bamako since 2013, it said, adding, another BANFPU has been working in the Gundam area of the Timbuktu region in the Sahara desert in the northern part of Mali since 2017.

The press release said the dedicated members of police have brightened the country's image in the international arena by performing their duties with professionalism, overcoming the adverse weather and inaccessible geographical location.