A total of 59 Nepal Army peacekeepers returned with their weapons and logistics from Mali on Monday.

According to the Nepal Army Directorate of Public Relations and Information, the troops under the command of Major Prajwal Thapa arrived in Kathmandu on a chartered flight by the United Nations.

Earlier, 93 out of 168 peacekeepers deployed in Mali under the United Nations multidimensional integrated stabilisation mission in Mali returned following the closure of the mission.

The remaining 16 soldiers will return soon, the national army said.

On June 30, the military junta in Mali, a country in West Africa, unexpectedly ordered the 13,000-strong force to depart, and the UN Security Council unanimously decided to terminate the peacekeeping effort that had been in place for ten years.

The participation of the Nepali Army in UN peace support operations spans a period of over a half-century covering some 44 UN missions, in which over 147,740 personnel have participated.

According to the national army, as of 8th December 2023, the Nepali Army deployed across 13 missions, including in Mali, around the world. “As a troop-contributing country, Nepal ranks second in the world. Currently, Nepali Army has some 5,964 soldiers including 573 female soldiers serving in 13 different missions around the globe,” the NA said. “Nepal has the commitment to provide up to 10,000 peacekeepers should the UN so request.”