Abyei Area

Facts for Prelims

Abyei Area

News: India, among the largest troop-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping, is deploying a platoon of women peacekeepers in Abyei, the country’s largest single unit of female Blue Helmets in a UN mission since 2007. 

Background:
• Heightened intercommunal tensions are likely in the Abyei Area, a territory disputed by Sudan and South Sudan, over the short term after armed herders killed 13 people and wounded five others in the region's Rumamer village on January 2. 

About:
• This will be India’s largest single unit of women Peacekeepers in a UN Mission since we deployed the first-ever all-women’s contingent in Liberia in 2007. It will also herald India’s intent of increasing significantly the number of Indian women in Peacekeeping contingents. 
• The Indian contingent, comprising two officers and 25 other ranks, will form part of an engagement platoon and specialise in community outreach and will be performing extensive security-related tasks as well.