All-women UN peacekeeping unit for Liberia

By Afp, New Delhi
4 October 2006, 18:00 PM
The United Nations and India have agreed on the deployment of 125 Indian policewomen as peacekeepers in Liberia, the first time the world body has used an all-female unit, officials said yesterday

"A memorandum of understanding between the UN and India has now been signed in New York and our unit will leave for Liberia later this month," Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) spokesman Abhisekh Dayal told AFP.

The officers, aged between 25 and 30, are to deployed for a possible six-month tour of duty in the Liberian capital Monrovia, which is emerging from years of savage civil war.

"Our girls are now fully-trained in everything -- language and communication skills, martial arts, weaponry, rescue and full-scale combat," said Poonam Gupta, a senior officer with the CRPF.