170 Police personnel for peace mission in South Sudan
One hundred and seventy personnel from the Formed Police Unit (FPU) of the Ghana Police Service are to participate in a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping in South Sudan.
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Although the Ghana Police Service has been part of the UN civilian police mission over the years, it is the first mission it is undertaking with its own contingent.
The police personnel have been taken through public order management, tactical progression and weapon handling, among other UN programmes and training regiment, by Italian trainers, to enable them to conform to UN practices and standards.
The highly-trained personnel will support the local police in South Sudan to maintain peace and order.
The inspection
To ensure that the expected standard for the mission had been met, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, embarked on an inspection exercise yesterday to ascertain the preparedness of the contingent.
Officials from the UN are expected to undertake the final inspection in two weeks after which a date would be set for the personnel to leave for South Sudan.
Although the IGP expressed satisfaction after the inspection, he stated that some shortcomings were noticed and would be addressed before the final inspection.
He mentioned for instance the quality of personal equipment, which needed to be brought up to standard.
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Reputation
Mr Alhassan, therefore, urged the commanders in charge to ensure that the personnel were adequately equipped with the necessary kits.
He also indicated that the Ghana Police Service had received a number of requests to send its contingent due to their reputation in the international circles.
“The Ghana Police Service is among the first to contribute to the police contingents of the UN peace-keeping mission,” he stated.
For his part, the Director-General of Operations at the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP) John Kudalor, said the Ghana Police Service would not compromise standards because the country had a huge image to protect.