Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei Darussalam remains committed to its peacekeeping mission with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

This time around, 20 Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) personnel are to be deployed in Lebanon to supervise the peacekeeping and security mission in the country.

At a sending off ceremony yesterday, the Deputy Minister of Defence, Dato Paduka Awg Hj Mustappa bin Hj Sirat handed over the national flag to the Brunei contingent. This is the ninth despatch of the RBAF personnel to Lebanon since 2008. The ceremony to mark the departure of the 20 RBAF personnel took place at the Royal Brunei Air Force Base in Rimba.

The contingent will join troops from Malaysia under the command of Malaysian Battalion 5 (MALBATT 5) in Sector West Lebanon.

The 9th team, led by Major Mohd Shalleh bin Hj Ismail is made up of Captain Hj Nafisal @Dedy bin Hj Salim; Staff Sergeant Awg Rozain bin Pungut; Staff Sergeant Erdy Fadillah bin Mohd Yusof; Sergeant Zaul Kernain bin Mohd Noor; Sergeant Tuty Eady Wanna binti Hj Brahim; Corporal Aswandy bin Hj Jumat; Corporal Zaiddani bin Hj Hamdan; Corporal Mohd Azri bin Hj Othman; Corporal (U) Pg Shaiful Bahri bin Pg Hj Metussin; Corporal Supandi bin Liman; Corporal Sahlin bin Hj Ibrahim; Corporal Muhd Fadhlan bin Mohd Noor Ariffin; Corporal Kamariah binti Hj Abu Bakar; Corporal Raimi bin Masri; Lance Corporal Abdul Razak bin Simpul; Lance Corporal Musyiri bin Omar; Lance Corporal Johaibe bin Asnan; Private Irwan bin Baha and Private Mohd Rahimen bin Zakaria.

Also present were the Commander of the RBAF, Major General Dato Paduka Seri Hj Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Hj Abidin; the High Commissioner ofMalaysia to Brunei Darussalam; Permanent Secretaries; Deputy Commander of RBAF; deputy permanent secretaries; service commanders and commandants; RBAF senior officers and officers as well as families.

The deployment of Brunei Darussalam's contingent in Lebanon is in line with the UN's mandate besides being an opportunity for the RBAF to show Brunei's presence in the UN peacekeeping force. It is also an honour for the RBAF to participate in the mission.

--Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin