Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on awarding servicemen of the Defence Ministry on October 6, Azertag has reported.

Under the order, the servicemen, who represented Azerbaijan at a high level in NATO's Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan and showed courage and valor in the performance of their duties and assigned tasks, are awarded.

Nineteen servicemen were awarded medals for showing bravery and 20 servicemen for military services.

It should be noted that on November 20, 2002, the Azerbaijani army's 22-member peacekeeping unit began operating in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

On January 9, 2018, Azerbaijan increased its staff to 120 in order to enlarge its contribution to the mission.

In addition to being represented in the relevant commands of the mission, the Azerbaijani army's peacekeeping forces also successfully fulfilled the task of guarding the Kabul International Airport. Thus, the Azerbaijani army's peacekeeping contingent, jointly with Turkish forces, carried out official duties to ensure the security of the Kabul International Airport.

The Taliban armed group retook power in Afghanistan 20 years after it was toppled by the USA. The collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government in Kabul came in the wake of Taliban blitzkrieg that began on August 6 and led to the capture of more than two dozen Afghan provinces by the morning of August 15.

The Azerbaijani army's peacekeeping detachment was formed in 1997. The Azerbaijani servicemen acted within the NATO/U.S.-led peacekeeping forces in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and South Sudan from September 1999.

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