Force Commander happy with Ghanaian troops

Major General Mountaga Diallo, Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) on Wednesday commended Ghanaian troops' (GHANBATT) contribution to peacekeeping in that country. He praised the professionalism exhibited by the soldiers, saying, "I am very satisfied with the performance of the Ghanaian battalion".

Maj-Gen. Diallo said this when he called on the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Lieutenant-General Seth Obeng at his office in Burma Camp, Accra, to discuss the current situation in Congo and Ghana's contribution to peace in that country. The Force Commander was on a day's visit to Ghana to give a lecture on "Force Commanders' Perspective on Peace Support Operations" at the International Peace Support Operations Course presently on-going at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) at Teshie near Accra. He said the peacekeeping operations in the DR Congo was moving "quite well" and that the prospects for peace was high, except for political issues which needed to be tackled seriously.

Maj.-Gen. Diallo said MONUC was receiving the co-operation of the Congolese government in their quest for peace and that the only incident was the recent demonstration by the Congolese people who wanted the mandate of the UN force, which went into that country on peacekeeping, to be changed to peace enforcement.

He said although the force's strength of 3,600 peacekeepers was inadequate, measures were taken to increase it to 5000 by the end of this year, depending on the political process. Lt. Gen. Obeng pledged the continued support of the GAF and the government to the pursuit of peace and security in the DR Congo.

The three-week International Peace Support Operations Course (IPSO) was organised by the GAFCSC for selected senior military officers in the sub-region. Participating countries were Ghana, Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, the Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, Sierra Leone and the United States.