196-strong IAF team to leave for Sudan soon

Flanked by a Pakistani UN team on the east and a Chinese team on the south-west, the IAF team, which includes 30 Garud commandos, will establish military bases in Kadugli and Malakal, a swampy position close to the Nile. They will provide aid to Indian troop inductions from Sector III just south of IAF’s positions — right in the centre of the country.

The team was inspected today by IAF vice-chief Air Marshal Ajit Bhavnani.

‘‘Sudan and its people have been suffering from the ravages of a civil war for many years — you are going there to bring relief and provide assistance to the Sudanese people,’’ he said in his address to the team.

The team, led by Group Capt Manmohan Bahadur, has been mandated with maintaining the peace following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed between the North and the South Sudan in January this year, followed by a resolution that allowed the deployment of peacekeepers to oversee its six-year trial period.

The team will have six Mi-17 utility helicopters commanded by Wing Commander B Chandra Sekhar, for possible close air support to Army troop inductions into violent zones.

A mix of aircrew, administrators, technicians and logisticians, the team is also carrying prefabricated equipment to build a hospital facility, officers’ mess and accomodations for themselves and future teams.

Once in place, the team will engage in patrol, escort and enforcement missions in the air, and logistical, communications and medical operations on the ground.