Sri Lanka Army Troops Return Home After Successful Mali Operation

With the completion of peacekeeping operations in Mali by the United Nations, troops of the Sri Lanka Army deployed to Mali for peacekeeping duties have returned to the country. A total of 1,099 Officers and Other Ranks and 14 staff Officers of the Sri Lanka Army were deployed for Peacekeeping duties in Mali.

The Army troops were deployed as part of the combat transport team at the headquarters of the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, which operated under the United Nations peacekeeping operations. The amount of foreign exchange they earned for Sri Lanka exceeds 14,524 million rupees.

During the Peacekeeping operations, Captain H.W.D. Jayawickrama of the Sri Lanka Light Infantry, Corporal S.S. Wijekumara of the Mechanized Infantry Regiment, and Corporal M.G.L. Deshapriya of the Sri Lanka Army Service Corps sacrificed their lives due to improvised explosive devices detonated by insurgents targeting the Sri Lanka Army convoy. Moreover, five Officers and 29 Other Ranks were injured in Mali.

Accordingly, Colonel Pinsara Wickramarachchi, Contingent Commander of the peacekeeping force in Mali, handed over the UN flag to Major General Dinesh Nanayakkara, the Commandant of Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force at Bandaranaike International Airport, marking the end of operations in Mali.