Kumasi, Ghana (PANA) - The first
batch of Ghanaian soldiers being deployed in Côte d'Ivoire as part of a
West African peacekeeping force dubbed ECOFORCE, left Ghana Monday for
the Ivorian administrative capital, Yamoussoukro.
The 51-member contingent includes five
officers and is on a specific six-month mission to provide security for
the ECOFORCE headquarters.
A second batch of 205 soldiers is due in Côte d'Ivoire within a fortnight.
According to a plan elaborated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), five countries including Ghana, Senegal, Benin, Togo and Niger are to contribute some 1,500 troops to ECOFORCE in strife-torn Côte d'Ivoire.
Ghana is to contribute 256 soldiers to the peacekeeping mission.
At a farewell parade at the Kumasi Airport, Brigadier George Ayiku, General Officer Commanding the Northern Command advised the Ghanaian contingent to exhibit the highest professional standards and discipline with a view to furthering the peace process in Côte d'Ivoire.
He said the soldiers owed it a duty to avoid acts that would tarnish the image of Ghana.
"You as peacekeeping soldiers must be neutral in all your operational activities and also strive to operate within the framework of the ECOFORCE mandate," Ayiku admonished.
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