156 Fijian peacekeepers return home

Fiji is withdrawing 156 Fijian peacekeepers from Iraq after the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) was closed earlier this month.  

The Fijian soldiers are expected to arrive in the country on Friday.  This was confirmed to this masthead by the permanent secretary for Defence and Veterans Affairs, Mason Smith.  

UNAMI shut down its operations after 22 years of helping Iraq from instability following the 2003 United States-led invasion and occupation and the ouster of Saddam Hussein’s regime.  

The United Nations (UN) secretary-general Antonio Guterres said support for Iraq would continue.  

UNAMI’s tasks included advising the government on political dialogue and reconciliation, as well as helping with elections and security sector reform. 

For more than four decades, Fiji has sent more troops and police per capita to serve UN peacekeeping operations than any other country in the world.