Chandigarh: The Indian Army contingent deployed for peacekeeping in Lebanon has been awarded the United Nations Force Commander’s Unit Citation. The contingent was selected from amongst 30 units from different countries making up the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
The citation was awarded to the 15 Punjab Infantry Battalion Group by the UNIFIL Commander, Maj-Gen Claudio Graziano, today for its “outstanding contribution towards maintaining peace and stability in South Lebanon”.
The citation states that in addition to operational tasks, the battalion carried out selfless humanitarian work, thereby endearing itself to the local population and enhancing the image of UNIFIL substantially.
This is the second time in a row that an Indian contingent has been awarded the UNIFIL commander’s citation. 15 Punjab’s predecessor unit, 4 Sikh, was also honoured by the UN, sources at Army Headquarters said.
On the occasion, General Graziano also presented the Force Commander’s Certificate of Appreciation to the battalion’s commanding officer, Col Advitya Madan. The battalion, comprising about 850 troops was inducted in southern Lebanon in December 2006 and is completing its tenure this month.
Consequent to aggressive patrolling in its area of operations, the battalion unearthed a large cache of arms and ammunition. The performance of the battalion in training activities with other contingents was commendable and it received appreciation for its battle procedures and discipline. It also identified the need for establishing additional UN posts for effective execution of tasks.
During its deployment, the battalion organised special camps in which disabled Lebanese soldiers and civilians were fitted with artificial limbs, called Jaipur Foot, free of cost. Free medical and eye check-up camps were conducted for which specialist doctors from India as well as Beruit were specially flown in.
Source: TNS