One hundred and twenty-nine Ghanaian soldiers have lost their lives in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations since Ghana began peacekeeping under UN supervision in the 1960s.

Out of the number, 48 died in Congo (now DRC) in the 1960s, six in Sinai, Egypt, in the 1970s, four in Rwanda in the 1990s, 27 in Lebanon since Ghana?s mission to Lebanon began, 41 in Liberia and Sierra Leone in the 1990s, two in the Democratic Republic of Congo a few years ago, and one in Cambodia in the 1990s, according to a brochure issued to mark this year?s International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.

A parade, mounted by seven officers and 140 men of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and the Ghana Police Service, was reviewed by the deputy minister for defence, Mr William Ofori Boafo. It was under the command of Major Samuel Seidu Mumuni.

Also present at the ceremony were the World Health Organisation (WHO) resident representative in Ghana, Dr. Melville George, the chief of defence staff, Major General J.B. Danquah, and other service commanders.

In an address, Mr Boafo said much as the global efforts at peacekeeping were laudable, the higher objective now was for the international community to find new ways of removing the conflict within and among nations, and when they occur, to exhibit swift and honest commitment to the UN Security Council.

?This will help reduce the untold human sufferings and hardships that are usually visited on the poor, the weak and the vulnerable during such conflicts,? he said.