Kazakhstan to Dispatch Peacekeeping Forces to Golan Heights in First Independent Mission

In a landmark move, Kazakhstan is preparing to deploy its first independent peacekeeping contingent to the Golan Heights under the United Nations (UN). The departure of the contingent will take place in three stages, with the final slated for March 14, said Colonel Bauyrzhan Nigmetullin, the head of the Kazakhstan Peace Operations Center (KAZCENT) of the Kazakh Ministry of Defense.

On Feb. 22, the first group of the contingent left for the Golan Heights through Damascus. 

“It will be our frontier group, which will be supporting our logistical transportation. On the same day,  our ammunition and equipment will be sent by railroad train to Aktau. From Aktau, there will be a commercial aeroplane [to Damascus],” said Nigmetullin, a former peacekeeper himself. 

On March 14, the Kazakh contingent will fly from Almaty to Damascus with a refuelling stop in Aktau. From Damascus, the convoy, accompanied by a UN special unit and Syrian police, will arrive at its location, known as Camp Faouar. 

The ministry provided the mission with modern military equipment in accordance with UN standards. The contingent has armored wheeled vehicles equipped with combat modules and the necessary life support equipment. 

They also have KAMAZ trucks, high-traffic vehicles, and engineering equipment. One of the vehicles, converted for the evacuation of the wounded, is equipped with an oxygen apparatus, a defibrillator, medicines, and other medical equipment.
For the first time, the UN has given Kazakhstan a mandate to independently deploy and carry out a peacekeeping mission. The Kazakh Parliament voted to deploy up to 430 peacekeepers to participate in UN missions, including in the Golan Heights. 

The Kazakh contingent consists of 139 military personnel, including seven women, who will carry out tasks to maintain a ceasefire between the warring parties under the mandate of the UN mission.

To carry out the mission, Kazakh military personnel have been carefully selected and trained under the UN requirements and standards. 

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