Serbian peacekeepers take part in CAR parade

BANGUI/BELGRADE - Serbian Armed Forces troops have taken part in a military parade staged at the M'Poko International Airport in Bangui, Central African Republic (CAR), to mark the declaration of full operational capabilities of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country.

The military parade was held on Tuesday, with a Serbian Armed Forces echelon making an appearance among 500 participants in 17 infantry and motorised echelons, the Serbian Armed Forces website said.

The multi-dimensional integrated UN mission has nearly 12,000 military and police troops, including 172 Serbian Armed Forces troops, 68 of whom have established a military hospital.

The basic task of the mission is to protect civilians, stop the hostilities between the former warring sides and create conditions to establish a state system in the entire territory of CAR.

Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces personnel is also taking part in UN peacekeeping missions in Congo, Liberia, Ivory Coast and the Central African Republic, as well as in the Middle East, Lebanon and Cyprus.