Lucknow, Apr 11 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday announced financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh each to the family members of two peacekeepers from the state killed during a United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
The Chief Minister has announced financial assistance to families of Hawaldar Heeralal from Bulandshahr and Nayab Sbedar Shiv Kumar Pal hailing from Pratapgarh district.
"We will try to help them. Government will fully support their families. Government will pay rupees 20 lakh to both the families," Yadav said after paying homage to Shiv Kumar Pal, one of the five soldiers who were killed on Tuesday when their 32-member convoy was ambushed by armed men in Gurmuck in the volatile state of Jonglei in South Sudan.
Condemning the incident, Yadav expressed his grief and said that he prayed for the peace of the departed souls.
Earlier this morning, the Indian Army paid homage to the five Indian peacekeepers after their body arrived in New Delhi.
"As you all know these five martyrs have lost their lives in an ambush in Sudan and their bodies have arrived here and from here, after we have paid our respects they will all be taken to their respective villages to carry out the final procedures for this," Major General Narsimhan.
"Basically when they were escorting a UN convoy, one of the rebel groups is suspected to have laid this ambush and in that ambush these five people have lost their lives," Narsimhan added.
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had earlier expressed anguish over the killing of the five peacekeepers.
"I pay tributes to our brave soldiers," Dr. Singh said in his condolence message to the bereaved families.
Jonglei has been the scene of widespread ethnic conflict since South Sudan became independent in July 2011. Much of the trouble has been in Pibor county, where the UN peacekeeping force is based.
An Indian soldier was shot and wounded there in March amid high tensions about an imminent government crackdown, and a UN helicopter was downed in December.
India is a major contributor to UN peacekeeping forces around the world and has suffered losses in the past.
In 2010, rebels hacked to death three Indians in their camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo. (ANI)
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