India withdrawing helicopters from U.N.'s Congo mission

June 16, 2011 01:59 am | Updated 01:59 am IST - United Nations

India is preparing to withdraw its four remaining Mi-35 attack helicopters from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) early next month after expiry of its contract with the U.N. mission, a top Indian official here has said.

Manjeev Singh Puri, India's Deputy Ambassador to the U.N., said that India needed its helicopters. “The contract has ended,” he told PTI.

Mr. Puri also underlined the need for “more consultation” with troop-contributing countries about the mandate of peacekeeping missions which was getting more “complicated.”

The Indian official added that there had been “some movement on consultations” but it wasn't enough.

The Turtle Bay blog on the Foreign Policy website described the loss of helicopters as “depriving the U.N. of its most vital military asset as the country heads into a landmark presidential election.”

“The Indian drawdown will deal a blow to the U.N. mission,” the U.N. focused blog said, noting that France is about to introduce a resolution that calls for greater role of peacekeepers to protect civilians ahead of the elections in Congo.

“India believes it is not accorded the respect it deserves on the world stage, and thinks its reputation has been tarnished in the Congo mission,” it added.

Mr. Puri, however, insisted that India had already extended the services of the helicopters for a couple of months at the request of the United Nations.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.