Konga XXIII-C1 leaves for Lebanon

JAKARTA: At TNI headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Friday the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief of staff, Vice Adm. Didik Heru Purnomo, sent off 150 soldiers to serve as a peacekeeping force.

The soldiers are from the Mechanized Company Task Force Garuda Contingent (Konga) XXIII-C1/UNIFIL and will serve under the United Nations mandate in southern Lebanon.

Currently, Indonesia has 850 soldiers serving in Lebanon.

Didik said a peacekeeping force was another kind of military operation and was one of TNI's main tasks, as stipulated by the 2002 law on state defense.

"Operation deployment abroad is an honor, a pride and, at the same time, reflects international recognition for Indonesia and the TNI," he said in a media statement.

Didik asked the soldiers to keep up their standard of performance to increase the world's trust in TNI's abilities, as shown by the request for an additional company. - JP