Friday, March 12, 2010

Assam Rifles men on UN Mission for Haiti relief

As part of the UN Mission, 140 men from Assam Rifles will be leaving for Haiti next month to provide relief and aid in the quake-hit poor Carribean country.

"The contingent will include ten officers and 130 men of other ranks. They are scheduled to leave for Haiti early next month," Assam Rifles spokesman A K Chowdhury told PTI.

They will be engaged in all kinds of relief work and aid, besides handling the security part.

Though the UN Mission's are generally for five years, the Assam Rifles men are likely to be rotated, giving opportunities to more personnel to be a part of it.

This is the first time that troops from the 175-year-old paramilitary force would be going on a UN Mission.

Assam Rifles Director General Lt Gen KS Yadava said it was a proud moment for the force to get selected for the mission.

The Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7 quake on January 12, followed by at least 52 after-shocks that left hundreds dead.

An estimated three million people were affected by the quake.

The Haitian government reports that an estimated 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged.

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