Army unit hit in Uri attack loses out on coveted UN mission

NEWDELHI: An Indian army unit has lost out on a coveted United Nations peacekeeping mission because it was manning a military base in Uri when 19 soldiers were killed in a deadly fidayeen strike in September 2016, said two persons familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The army responded to the attack 11 days later by conducting surgical strikes against terror pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to avenge the killings – the highest number of army casualties in a single incident in nearly three decades.

The unit has been replaced by another battalion from the same infantry regiment that will head for the Congo early next year to be a part of the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known by its French acronym Monusco, the two people added. Indian units that serve on UN missions are picked by the army headquarters.

The Congo accounts for the largest deployment of Indian forces on foreign soil.

“The Uri attack showed the infantry unit in negative light. It was selected but it’s no longer going to the Congo.

Units have to go through a rigourous selection procedure before they are assigned to UN roles, with overall performance being the top parameter,” said one of the officials cited above.

The pre-dawn Uri terror strike took place when this unit wasin the process of being replaced by another infantry battalion after completing its three-year term along the Line of Control (LOC).

A large number of soldiers were stationed in tents and temporary shelters when the rotation was underway.