Indian Peacekeeping Forces

India has evacuated its entire contingent of peacekeeping forces comprising of 15 CRPF personnel from Tripoli, Libya (North Africa) after the situation there "suddenly worsened".

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• Eastern Libyan Army Commander Khalifa Haftar ordered his forces, the Libyan National Army (LNA), to take over Tripoli — the capital of the United Nations-backed government (Government of National Accord) — amid reports of escalating political tension in the country.
• In response the army aligned to Libya's United Nations-backed government announced a counteroffensive and vowed to reclaim all areas seized by Libyan National Army
• The US military had also temporarily pulled some of its forces out of Libya amid the escalating political tension in the North African country.

Peacekeeping Forces

• The United Nations Charter gives the United Nations Security Council the power and responsibility to take collective action to maintain international peace and security.
• Most of these operations are established and implemented by the United Nations itself, with troops serving under UN operational control. In these cases, peacekeepers remain members of their respective armed forces, and do not constitute an independent "UN army," as the UN does not have such a force.
• In cases where direct UN involvement is not considered appropriate or feasible, the Council authorizes regional organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Economic Community of West African States, or coalitions of willing countries to undertake peacekeeping or peace-enforcement tasks.
• Department of Peacekeeping Operations’s highest level doctrine document, is "United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: Principles and Guidelines".
• Peacekeepers monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict areas and assist ex-combatants in implementing the peace agreements they may have signed.
• Such assistance comes in many forms, including confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law, and economic and social development.
• Accordingly, UN peacekeepers (often referred to as Blue Berets or Blue Helmets because of their light blue berets or helmets) can include soldiers, police officers, and civilian personnel.

India’s Contribution

• So far India has taken part in 43 Peacekeeping missions with a total contribution exceeding 180,000 troops and a significant number of police personnel having been deployed.
• In 2014 India is the third largest troop contributor [TCC] with 7,860 personnel deployed with ten UN Peacekeeping Missions of which 995 are police personnel, including the first Female Formed Police Unit under the UN.
• Recently Indian Peacekeepers were lauded by the UN for their efforts in preventing a carnage in the South Sudan conflict which resulted in the death of two of its soldiers.