Two Nepali peacekeepers were awarded the Dag Hammarskjold medal posthumously for their service to the United Nations (UN) missions.

Private Anil Gurung and Sergeant Pashupati Karki were bestowed with the award during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of UN Peacekeeping on Thursday.

Gurung served with the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) while Karki was recruited from the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

The duo was among the 103 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers, who were awarded posthumously. The personnel lost their lives during service under the UN flag last year.

During the programme organised at the UN headquarters, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also laid a wreath to honour more than 4,200 UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948.

Nepal is the second largest contributor to the UN peace operations with more than 6,200 military and police personnel serving in various African and Middle-Eastern nations.

More than two million officers from 125 countries have served the international organisation in 71 operations across the world.

Currently, 87,000 women and men are serving in 12 conflict zones across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.