Indian peacekeeper injured in fresh firing in South Sudan

[Hindustani78]

Last Updated: Friday, May 29, 2015 - 00:32
Indian peacekeeper injured in fresh firing in South Sudan | Zee News



United Nations: An Indian peacekeeper has been injured in fresh firing in the troubled Malakal region in South Sudan, with the UN mission expressing concern over the incident and asking parties to respect the sanctity of UN staff.


Sources here told PTI that the peacekeeper injured in the firing is an Indian though no further information was immediately available as to the rank of the peacekeeper.

They said the peacekeeper is in stable condition after sustaining minor injuries by being hit by a bullet in the head.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters today that the UNMISS reported new firing outside of its compound in Malakal, in which one peacekeeper has been injured.

He, however, said he did not have any further information about the identity of the peacekeeper.

"The mission is deeply concerned that despite the reassurances given by both parties such an incident occurred and reiterates its strong call on all parties to respect the sanity of UN installations and staff," Dujarric said.

When asked if the Secretary General aims to reinvigorate the peace process in the troubled nation and push for a political settlement to the conflict, Dujarric said the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) continues to be in the lead in the process.

"We are supportive of that process. The violence on a daily basis, the horrendous impact on access to food that we have been flagging and the fact that more than a hundred thousand people are being sheltered in UN civilians compounds shows the immediate need for both the president and the opposition to sit around the table and put their differences aside and? agree on a political settlement," Dujarric said.

India is among the top contributor of troops to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Five Indian peacekeepers, including a Lieutenant Colonel, were killed in South Sudan in April 2013 when their UN convoy was ambushed by about 200 attackers near Jonglei State.

In 2014, two Indian peacekeepers were injured in another "deadly and unprovoked" attack by a mob of armed men on civilians sheltering inside a UN base in the war-ravaged town of Bor in South Sudan.

The attack comes just a day before the UN's commemoration of the International Day of Peacekeepers.

PTI

 

[The_Sidewinder]

Last Updated: Friday, May 29, 2015 - 00:32
Indian peacekeeper injured in fresh firing in South Sudan | Zee News



United Nations: An Indian peacekeeper has been injured in fresh firing in the troubled Malakal region in South Sudan, with the UN mission expressing concern over the incident and asking parties to respect the sanctity of UN staff.


Sources here told PTI that the peacekeeper injured in the firing is an Indian though no further information was immediately available as to the rank of the peacekeeper.

They said the peacekeeper is in stable condition after sustaining minor injuries by being hit by a bullet in the head.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters today that the UNMISS reported new firing outside of its compound in Malakal, in which one peacekeeper has been injured.

He, however, said he did not have any further information about the identity of the peacekeeper.

"The mission is deeply concerned that despite the reassurances given by both parties such an incident occurred and reiterates its strong call on all parties to respect the sanity of UN installations and staff," Dujarric said.

When asked if the Secretary General aims to reinvigorate the peace process in the troubled nation and push for a political settlement to the conflict, Dujarric said the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) continues to be in the lead in the process.

"We are supportive of that process. The violence on a daily basis, the horrendous impact on access to food that we have been flagging and the fact that more than a hundred thousand people are being sheltered in UN civilians compounds shows the immediate need for both the president and the opposition to sit around the table and put their differences aside and? agree on a political settlement," Dujarric said.

India is among the top contributor of troops to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Five Indian peacekeepers, including a Lieutenant Colonel, were killed in South Sudan in April 2013 when their UN convoy was ambushed by about 200 attackers near Jonglei State.

In 2014, two Indian peacekeepers were injured in another "deadly and unprovoked" attack by a mob of armed men on civilians sheltering inside a UN base in the war-ravaged town of Bor in South Sudan.

The attack comes just a day before the UN's commemoration of the International Day of Peacekeepers.

PTI

Hit by a bullet, still a minor injury. Damn. Wishing him a speedy recovery.

 

[Hindustani78]

Last Updated: Friday, May 29, 2015 - 11:17
Indian army colonel in UN peacekeeping operation injured in South Sudan | Zee News


United States: As the UN peacekeeping operations in South Sudan struggles with inadequate resources and widening mandates, an Indian Army colonel was injured in crossfire between two warring groups there Thursday, according to sources monitoring the mission in New York.

They said the officer was injured in the region of the back of the neck, but not seriously, when a camp in Malakal was hit. Indian peacekeepers are deployed there to protect several thousand refugees.

The Secretary General`s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, confirmed that a peacekeeper was injured but could not identify him or his nationality. "The UN Mission reports new firing outside of its compound in Malakal," he said. "One peacekeeper was injured."

India`s Permanent Representative Asoke Kumar Mukerji had warned the Security Council last week about the deteriorating situation there in two letters to its president, Raimonda Murmokaite that IANS has seen.

On May 20, he wrote, "It is extremely important that the Security Council take urgent action to prevent any casualties and collateral damage with regard to the Indian troops and internally displaced people (IDPs)" or refugees.

The attack occurred hours before the Security Council voted to extend the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) till November end and authorised it "to use all necessary means" to protect civilians "irrespective of the source of such violence."

On Friday, the UN observes the International Day of Peacekeepers.

Of the 2,000 Indian troops in UNMISS, more than 800 are based in Malakal, situated in South Sudan`s oil-rich Upper Nile state that is sandwiched between Sudan and Ethiopia. The region has been wracked by fighting between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir Mayardit and supporters of former vice president Riek Machar Teny of Sudan People`s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO).

The fighting escalated about a week ago when Major General Johnson Olony defected from the government side to Riek Machar`s, taking with him a large troop contigent. Kiir retaliated by moving reinforcements to the area.

Soon afterwards Mukerji wrote to Murmokaite, "The threat is both extremely grave and imminent" and asked for assurance that "every measure feasible will be taken to ensure that casualties and damage are avoided."

His fears are underscored by the killing of seven Indian army personnel in two separate incidents in 2013 in South Sudan.

Diplomatic sources familiar with the situation in South Sudan said that the a political solution to the conflict was essential to bring peace to the area and the peacekeeping operation could not by itself achieve that. One of them paraphrased UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon`s quip, "You can`t keep peace if there is no peace" to emphasise the point.

Ban in a report to the Security Council last month conceded that there was a "lack of progress towards securing a peaceful settlement of the conflict."

The sources faulted the Security Council, which does not adequately consult with troop-contributors, for not taking stronger measures to push the warring sides to a political settlement.

The peacemaking process has virtually been outsourced to a seven-nation East African organisation, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which has so far failed to broker an enforceable peace.

Earlier this month, IGAD admitted it was "deeply frustrated by the spread of violence to Upper Nile."

Ban has also not given the South Sudan crisis the same level of attention as he has to others like Yemen.

Asked Thursday if the Ban plans to reinvigorate the peace process there, his spokesperson, Dujarric, deferred to IGAD, saying, "It`s something that IGAD continues to be in the lead. We are supportive of that process."

Although the Security Council adopted the 4,600-word resolution backing the peacekeeping mission and emphasising its mission to protect civilians, the operations are hamstrung by lack of resources and logistical foresight, sources familiar with UNMISS operations said. This makes the peacekeepers vulnerable to attacks and the UN efforts there ineffective.

Recounting the conditions under which the Indian peacekeepers operate, a source who has seen the operations first hand, said that although the Security Council tells them "to use all necessary means," they are virtual sitting ducks when they come under crossfire.

This is because they cannot retaliate as that would lead to direct attacks that could endanger the civilians they are protecting. "Best bet is to lie low and not do anything unless they are directly attacked," the source said.

As a protection against mortar and heavy weapon fire, they need bunker-like defensive structure, which the UN and South Sudan government do not want built as that would appear to make the UN compounds sheltering the refugees permanent installations, the source said.

Due to lack of planning and logistics, most of the 5,000 personnel brought in during the troop surge authorised by the Security Council last year are still sitting in Juba, the country`s capital in the south instead of being deployed to areas needing them, the source said.

As result the peacekeepers in the conflict areas are stretched thin and pinned down guarding the refugees, rather than going out on confidence-building patrols. The patrols, undertaken on the ground or from the air, are an important element of the Security Council mandate because they also bring along staff from other UN agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for outreach activities.

Transportating troops, supplies and relief for refugees difficult because South Sudan has few roads. The Upper Nile state depends mostly on river transport and convoys require armed escorts, which are in short supply.

Bangladesh has contributed a riverine unit from its navy, but it is only now being deployed, the source said, and may vessels on dry docks.

More helicopters and aircraft suitable for operating there are needed.

Peacekeepers` movements are also restricted by the South Sudan government, the source said. Often, when they are cleared by the government, they also have to coordinate with opposition forces to ensure they are not attacked, the source said. But they do come under sporadic attacks.

Mukerji pointed out to he Security Council president in a letter last Friday that a camp at Melut in Upper Nile state ran out of water and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army was not allowing the peacekeepers to fetch water from the river.

 

[Hindustani78]

Indian Colonel injured in fresh firing in S Sudan identified | Zee News
Last Updated: Saturday, May 30, 2015 - 12:58


United Nations: The Indian peacekeeper who was injured in fresh firing in the troubled Malakal region in South Sudan two days ago was today identified as Lieutenant Colonel Krovvidi Dinakar.

Sources told PTI that Dinakar received a graze bullet injury in the vertex of his head during the cross-firing outside of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) compound in Malakal on Thursday but is under medical care and is in stable condition.

An UNMISS spokeswoman said over phone from South Sudan that there was firing by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLM/A) in the vicinity of the UNMISS camp in Malakal and "lot of stray bullets" landed into the compound, inflicting the injury to the Indian peacekeeper.

She added that the peacekeeper received medical care at a hospital also run by Indian military personnel.

A day after the attack that comes just a day before the UN's commemoration of the International Day of Peacekeepers, the world body's peacekeeping chief?expressed "regret" over the lack of progress in achieving a political solution in the troubled nation.

UN's Head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous said that the escalating violence in South Sudan over the past few weeks is "extremely sad".

He expressed concern that the situation will get worse since it is the beginning of the rainy season and the warring sides will try to consolidate their positions.

"I have to regret that indeed a political solution is not making any progress," Ladsous said when asked whether the Secretary General should push for a political settlement in South Sudan given the deteriorating situation.

"There is the need for the international community to take a measure of the drama that has been unfolding for 18 months and made tens of thousands of victims with no political perspective in sight," he said.

He added that the "priority should be more than ever" to finding a political solution to the crisis.

India's Ambassador to the UN Asoke Mukerji said given the deteriorating situation in South Sudan, it had been predicted that peacekeepers serving there will face "more and more problems of this kind".

He said it is important that the Security Council takes urgent action to stop the fighting.

Five Indian peacekeepers, including a Lieutenant Colonel, were killed in South Sudan in April, 2013 when their UN convoy was ambushed by about 200 attackers near Jonglei State.

PTI

 

[Hindustani78]

An Indian army doctor, posted as a UN Peacekeeper, treating a cow at Bor in South Sudan, a country where the 'centrality of cattle' is such that justice, even for a murder, may be served in terms of cows. | Photo Credit: PTI

http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...e-served-in-terms-of-cows/article18594490.ece

An Indian medical officer with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan says he has treated around 10,000 cattle as against 2,000 humans over the last few months.
At the centre of the raging South Sudan conflict is not oil or territory but cattle, which, Indian U.N. peacekeepers posted to the African nation say, are considered “more precious” than humans.

A young Indian commanding officer of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said in the world’s youngest nation, made up largely of pastoral communities, the centrality of cattle is such that justice, even for a murder, may be served in terms of cows.

Speaking over video conference from Bor, around 190 km from the country’s capital Juba, Mayur Shekatkar, the officer, explained how cattle also happen to be a form of dowry. The size of a cattle herd, with the benchmark being at least 200 animals, often determines if a young man is eligible for marriage or not, he said.

Brigadier K.S. Brar, the National Senior for the Indian Contingent, described the UNMISS as the “second most dangerous” posting after Syria, where fighting is “relentless”, in the absence of any ceasefire.

“The clashes are not over usual resources like territory or land. They [tribes] fight over cattle, which are considered more precious than human beings. And with the proliferation of weapons, the situation has become more complex,” Brigadier Brar said.

Till now, the UNMISS has claimed the lives of seven Indians — one officer, three Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO) and three others — Brigadier Brar said.

For the pastoral tribes, in the absence of farming and other forms of occupation, cattle are a source of wealth and prestige and consequently lie at the heart of their enmity, which has plunged the country into a state of extraordinary crisis, marked by ceaseless violence, famines, hunger and deaths.

“These tribes migrate with their cattle in the dry season towards the Nile river. Clashes are intense during this period. On top of that, they are mostly governed by their traditional justice system. You may commit a murder, but the justice may be in terms of cattle,” Mr. Shekatkar said.

Lieutenant Colonel Anand Shelke, a medical officer with the Indian team, shared statistics that reflect the enormity of the situation. Lt. Col. Shelke said he has treated around 10,000 cattle as against 2,000 human beings over the last few months.

South Sudan came into being in 2011, following independence from Sudan, after a two-decade long war. But hostilities broke out in 2013 again after President Salva Kiir Mayardiit sacked the Cabinet, accusing then Vice-President Riek Machar of planning a failed coup.

The ensuing violence has sparked a crisis, that has nearly spiralled out of control, prompting the UN to launch a “massive humanitarian response”.

The fissures among the various ethnic groups of the country, with Dinkas being the majority, run deep and a constant sense of insecurity only precipitates the crisis, with millions displaced and starving.

“The victims include women and children. Several U.N. reports have laid bare alarming facts on sexual violence.

There is a presence of child soldiers to some extent. Nearly every youth has a weapon to himself. The moment you step out, you may face firing. Overall, the conflict is brutal,” Mr. Shekatkar said.

Under the circumstances, the troops, who have the mandate to protect the civilians and create conditions for delivery of humanitarian assistance, have to get into combat situations at times, Brigadier Brar said, adding that since Indians have been here for long, they enjoy somewhat good relations with the locals.

“The occupational hazards are slightly different. But many greet us saying ‘Ram, Ram’ There are queries on Shahrukh Khan, Kajol and movies like DDLJ (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge),” Major Kartik Manral, a part of the mission, said.

Using the goodwill they enjoy among the locals, the Indian team has been trying to teach them the value of cattle in farming, which is nearly absent despite the presence of vast tracts of land, Brar said. “It will also take care of food security.”

The intensity of the situation they find themselves in takes a toll on the Indian personnel, drawn from various army battalions, but they are not complaining.

“I want to assure my family back home that I am doing fine. We have protected India’s borders a lot, now it is my duty to restore peace in this country,” Havildar Suresh Patil said.

India is the second-largest troop contributor to peacekeeping missions and it has currently over 7,600 military and police personnel deployed to UN peace operations in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, Liberia, the Middle East, South Sudan, Sudan and the Western Sahara.

May 29 is the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Defence
29-May, 2017 17:45 IST
Indian Army Celebrates Peacekeeping Day Honours Blue Berets

Lieutenant General Sarath Chand, Vice Chief of Army Staff delivered the Key Note Address on the International UN Peacekeeper's Day which is celebrated world over on 29 May to honour the fallen peacekeepers and to pay tribute to those who served or are still serving in UN peacekeeping missions. The theme for the 2017 International Day of UN Peacekeepers is “Investing in Peace Around the World”.

Mr Yuri Afanasiev, United Nations Resident Coordinator in India read out the UN Secretary General's message. He mentioned that, last year 117 peacekeepers laid their life in peacekeeping missions which includes two from India. The two fallen peacekeepers from India were Rifleman Brijesh Thapa who served with the United Nations Organization Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and Sepoy Ravi Kumar who was deployed with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) this year. A two minutes silence was observed to pay homage to the fallen peacekeepers.

India is the largest cumulative troop contributor, having provided almost 200,000 troops in nearly 50 of the 71 peacekeeping missions mandated over the past six decades, including 13 of the current 16 missions. Speaking on the occasion the Vice Chief applauded the Indian UN Peacekeeping Contingents for their dedication, conduct and competence. He also spoke on the changing dynamics in peacekeeping in the present UN missions and the way forward to overcome the challenges.

The event saw participation by diplomatic community, officers from ministries, veteran peacekeepers, UN Country Teams, students from prominent universities and Indian Army contingents earmarked for UN deployment which was supported by UN Information Centre in India (UNIC).

To mark the occasion, Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) and Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK) along with United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office organised a joint seminar on “21st Century Roadmap for Conflict Resolution by the United Nations”. The seminar focused on the nature and character of emerging conflicts of the 21st century and measures in preventing & dealing with such conflicts under universal norms of justice & fair play and its impact on various aspects of conflict resolution such as preventive diplomacy, peace-making, peacekeeping and peace building.



Col Aman Anand

PRO (Army)

Rifleman Brijesh Thapa

The Vice Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Sarath Chand delivering the keynote address on the International UN Peacekeeper’s Day, in New Delhi on May 29, 2017.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Commerce & Industry
20-December, 2017 18:03 IST
India Shining: Chair for Ad-hoc Committee on Review & Reforms for Kimberly Process Certification Scheme Gearing up to take responsibilities as KP Chair in 2019

A delegation consisting of Government officials and Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) representatives led by Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India attended the KP Plenary Session held at Brisbane, Australia from 9-14 December, 2017. In one of a landmark decisions favoring India’s leading position in Diamonds globally, India was appointed as the Kimberly Process (KP) Vice Chair for 2018 & Chair for 2019 in the last plenary held in Dubai in November, 2016. The EU will be KP Chair for 2018.

The Kimberley Process is a joint Government, International Diamond Industry and Civil Society initiative to stem the flow of Conflict Diamonds. “Conflict Diamonds” means rough diamonds used by rebel movements or their allies to finance conflict aimed at undermining legitimate governments. It is also described in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. The KPCS came to into effect from 1st January, 2003 and evolved into an effective mechanism for stopping the trade in conflict diamonds. India is the founding member of KPCS. At present, KPCS has 54 members representing 81 countries including the EU with 28 members. India is one of the founding members of the KPCS and was Chair of the KPCS for the year 2008.

At the Brisbane Plenary, India was selected as Chair for the Ad Hoc Committee on Review & Reforms (AHCRR) to reform the process for the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. Angola will be the Vice Chair of this Adhoc Committee and will work with India and other members of the Committee (which includes Past Chairing countries & Civil Society, WDC, ADPA, DDI etc.) on the Reform issues related to changes in core document, expansion of scope of the KP, permanent secretariat office, multi donor fund issues etc.

The Indian representation at the meet emphasized on the guidelines for reconciliation in the working group on statistics and framework for information sharing in KPCS to eradicate the scourge of forged certificates of KPCS and to make it more secured. India proposed a system of procedure to make the peer review visits more professional and administratively efficient. Members were encouraged for introduction of measures of enforcement like My KYC Bank to enhance responsible sourcing in terms of ensuring financial transparency and giving technological solutions for differentiation between natural and lab grown diamonds by introducing affordable machines for detection to the industry.

****

 

[Hindustani78]

http://aa.com.tr/en/africa/south-sudans-warring-parties-agree-cease-fire-deal/1012037

Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat (rear C) and Foreign Affairs Minister of Ethiopia, Workneh Gebeyehu (rear L) and The IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan, Ambassador Ismail Wais (rear R) attend a meeting at African Union Commission Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on December 21, 2017.
By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

The warring parties of South Sudan signed a truce deal late Thursday to allow humanitarian access to civilians caught in the fighting.

The latest attempt to end the four-year civil war saw delegates from the government headed by President Salva Kiir and those representing the opposition of Riek Machar seek to revive a 2015 peace deal.

The agreement was overseen by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

Tens of thousands have been killed and a third of the population of 12 million have fled their homes in violence that first erupted in December 2013 when Kiir sacked his deputy Machar.

The cessation of hostilities deal will come into effect on Dec. 24 and calls for the protection of civilians and access for humanitarian organizations. Half the population is in need of aid.

Moussa Faki, chairman of the African Union Commission, who was present at the signing, described it as “just a small first step.”

He told delegates: “The real test of the seriousness of your commitment will reside in your commitment to take practical action.”

Workneh Gebeyehu, chairman of IGAD’s ministerial council, added: “We are sending the South Sudanese a precious Christmas gift.

“There should be no excuse for violation of this cessation of hostilities.”

Previous truces have been broken as the fighting deteriorated to involve several armed groups.

Thursday’s agreement is expected to pave the way for elections, the timing of which will be negotiated in upcoming talks.

************
http://aa.com.tr/en/africa/new-condition-for-reviving-peace-in-south-sudan/1011185
South Sudanese opposition groups demand arms sale ban as prerequisite to cease-fire

21.12.2017

FILE PHOTO
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

South Sudanese opposition groups taking part in the ongoing negotiations with Salva Kiir’s government to revive an Aug. 2015 peace deal have called for a ban on the import of firearms.

The demand came amidst negotiations between South Sudan’s political stakeholders, including the government, that began on Dec. 18 in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

A source privy to the content of the negotiations -- being held behind closed doors -- told Anadolu Agency that the opposition groups had tabled their demand for a ban on the import of arms that would bind all of the parties, including the government. They also asked this ban to be included as a clause in the Cessation of Hostilities agreement that they have been trying to hammer out.

“The delegation of the government of South Sudan, however, rejected the idea, saying it is the government’s prerogative to buy or not buy arms,” the source said.

According to the source, this has been one of the two thorny issues that came in the way of the negotiating parties reaching a cessation of hostilities deal, which is regarded as a prerequisite for reviving an earlier peace agreement.

The opposition groups are also demanding that a supervising body be set up to monitor and evaluate the cease-fire in line with the Aug. 2015 peace deal and that this body should not operate from Juba, but rather outside of it.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) initiated the new move to carry out what it describes as “a revitalization of the peace deal.”

It is expected that the negotiators will settle their differences and arrive at a workable cease-fire deal soon, the source added.

South Sudan has been mired in conflict between the government of President Salva Kiir and rebels led by Machar since December 2013.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced almost four million people from their homes, including over a million refugees who have fled to the neighboring countries.

International and regional leaders have called for an end to the conflict in the East African nation but several truces have been broken by both sides.

 

[Hindustani78]

https://www.thehindu.com/news/inter...urity-firms/article25082890.ece?homepage=true

September 29, 2018 19:37 IST
Updated: September 29, 2018 19:37 IST
Private security companies (PSCs) have spiralled in response to a string of security incidents that Chinese personnel, posted abroad, have confronted in recent years.

Six years ago, a dozen armed security contractors from China worked with the Sudanese Army to rescue 29 kidnapped Chinese workers. The incident took place at the Al Abbasiya village in Sudan’s South Kordofan State. But this was not a one-off incident. In July 2016, China’s DeWe security firm was called in to marshal an evacuation plan for more than 300 workers and civilians belonging to the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). These employees had been trapped in the crossfire between two warring factions in Juba, South Sudan.

Chinese companies that have dared to enter resource-rich countries ruled by weak governments,have also faced serious situations related to international terrorism. Two years prior to the South Sudan incident, Veterans Security Services, a Chinese PSC, pulled out nearly 1,000 workers from Samarra, Iraq. These employees had been caught in the crossfire between the Iraqi military and the dreaded Islamic State.

The demand for quality Chinese PSCs has spiralled in tune with the BRI — Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature mission of reviving the ancient Silk Road by building connectivity, industrial parks, Internet highways, and icons of the culture industry, across the vast Eurasian landmass, and Africa.

Unsurprisingly, PSC numbers began to rise with Beijing’s overseas forays under the BRI. By 2013, the number of registered PSCs spiked to 4,000, drawing more than 4.3 million security personnel into their ranks. But in the next four years, the numbers shot up to 5,000, according to a study by the Mercator Institute for China Studies, and the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies. The PSC boom is unlikely to taper any time soon, as thousands of Chinese nationals head to overseas destinations of questionable political stability. It is estimated that around 30,000 Chinese nationals have been posted in Pakistan alone, to develop the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Home-grown protocol

In deploying their personnel abroad, Chinese PSCs are following a typical home-grown protocol. PSC personnel during their overseas deployment avoid carrying weapons. Instead, they are encouraged to work with local government security personnel in tackling situations that may require the use of force. The PSCs’ operational drill has apparently drawn lessons from the Blackwater shooting incident. Personnel from the American PSC killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in 2007.

The doctrine of collaborating with local armed forces while remaining unarmed has also been shaped by another incident in Zambia. The Financial Times has reported that in 2010, supervisors at a Chinese-owned coal mine in Zambia fired into a crowd of workers demanding higher pay, injuring 11 and triggering an anti-China backlash. Apparently, the Chinese authorities are quietly encouraging the PSCs to enter security grey zones abroad. This is a much better option than sending troops, whose presence in the host country can easily feed into the collective memory of colonial enslavement.

Atul Aneja works for The Hindu and is based in Beijing.

****************
On 9 July 2011 South Sudan became the 54th independent country in Africa, South Sudan formally became independent from Sudan on 9 July 2011, The South Kordofan conflict broke out in June 2011 between the Army of Sudan and the SPLA over the Nuba Mountains.

Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) also operates in a wide area that includes South Sudan.