Hanoi (VNA) – CambodianPrime Minister Hun Sen announced on March 25 that he has approved a budget of15 million USD to purchase armoured vehicles for the country’s peacekeepingforces operating in Mali.
Speaking at a university graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh, Hun Sen stressed thatthis is required by the UN and that Cambodia must contribute to peacekeepingoperations as well as protect its forces.
Cambodia first sent its troops abroad in 2006. The Southeast Asian nation has contributeda total of 5,785 soldiers to UN peacekeeping missions in eight countries, namelySudan, South Sudan, Chad, the Central African Republic, Lebanon, Mali, Syria,and Cyprus.
In Mali alone, Cambodia has sent 309 troops to join the UN peacekeeping missionsince 2014.
In 2017, four Cambodian peacekeepers in the Central African Republic werekilled by a rebel group during a convoy attack near Bangassou city. –VNA
