PEACEKEEPERS LEAVE FOR AFGHANISTAN

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia /MONTSAME/ A ceremony took place on Wednesday at the Chingis Khaan international airport to see off groups of Mongolian peacekeepers. Divided into two groups--troops and helicopter repair military mechanics--they will partake in the "Sustainable Freedom" operation in Afghanistan. Present at the ceremony were J.Enkhbayar, the Defense Minister; Lieutenant-General Ts.Togoo, the State Secretary of the Defense Ministry; Major-General B.Bayarmagnai, a head of the General Headquarters of Mongolia's Armed Forces (GHMAF); and a representative from the U.S Embassy in Mongolia. Since 2002, some 5,640 Mongolian servicemen have taken part in 14 peacekeeping operations in Iraq, Sierra Leone, Chad and Western Sahara. For the time being, over 440 peacekeepers are serving in Darfur region of Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Western Sahara. B.Khuder