Colchester troops receive medals for S. Sudan operation

August 5, 2019 (JUBA) – Hundreds of troops, including 15 from Colchester, were on Thursday honored with operational medals for their part in the army’s latest missions in Afghanistan and South Sudan.

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, the Royal Anglian Regiment were presented with the medals by the regiment’s Colonel-in-Chief, The Duke of Gloucester, Prince Richard, for their part in the operations.

Around 80 soldiers from the battalion, nicknamed The Vikings, were deployed to Malakal and Bentiu in South Sudan as part of the United Nations peacekeeping mission (UNMISS) Operation Trenton.

The regiment’s primary tasks were to base security and force protection for the engineers as they completed a wide range of construction projects, including building a hospital and new roads.

In April, a total of 150 Indian peacekeepers serving with UNMISS received medals of honour for their dedicated service and sacrifice. The medals were given to UNMISS peacekeepers in Malakal during a ceremony filled with parades and performances.

India is the second largest contributor of peacekeepers to UNMISS with more than 2,400 military and police personnel currently deployed for the mission.

Following the crisis which broke out in South Sudan in December 2013, the Security Council, by its resolution 2155 (2014) of 27 May 2014, reinforced UNMISS and reprioritized its mandate towards the protection of civilians, human rights monitoring, and support for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement.

(ST)