United Nations: Eight Indian soldiers, who lost their lives while serving in UN peacekeeping operations last year, are among 106 military, police and civilian personnel to be posthumously awarded a prestigious UN medal this week for their courage and sacrifice in the line of duty.
The Dag Hammarskjold Medal, named after the second UN Secretary General, will be awarded on May 29, which is commemorated as the International Day of UN Peacekeepers.
The fallen Indian peacekeepers to be awarded are Lt Col Mahipal Singh, Lance Naik Nand Kishore Joshi, Havildar Heera Lal, Naib Subedar Shiv Kumar Pal and Havildar Bharat Sasmal from the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) who were killed in April last year when they were ambushed by about 200 attackers near Jonglei State as they escorted a UN convoy.
Subedar Dharmesh Sangwan and Subedar Kumar Pal Singh died in action in December last year in Akobo following an assault on an UNMISS base.
Sepoy Rameshwar Singh, deployed as a peacekeeper in the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) was killed in February 2013.
In honour of the fallen peacekeepers and those who continue to serve in the cause of peace, several commemorative events would be held at the United Nations headquarters here on the Peacekeepers day.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would oversee a solemn wreath-laying ceremony in honour of all fallen peacekeepers at the Peacekeepers Memorial.
