Accra, April 20, GNA - The Ghanaian contingent serving with the United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) has been decorated with medals at a ceremony in Bondoukou, 420km north-east of Abidjan. The force commander of UNOCI, General Fernand Marcel Amoussou, accompanied by the Ambassador of Ghana, Kabral Blay-Amihere, and General Samuel Anum Odotei, the Chief of General Staff of the Ghana Army were present at the function last Thursday at which 535 members of contingent were decorated by General Amoussou.

"Your professionalism has been amply demonstrated by the way you have done all the tasks you were assigned," he told the recipients, according to a statement from UNOCI received in Accra on Sunday. "Your tact, diplomacy and your impartiality have paved the way for the restoration of lasting peace in the Ivorian nation."

General Amoussou thanked the political and administrative authorities and the population of Bondoukou for their support to UNOCI and reassured them saying: "We are together on the road of peace." General Odotei, who is visiting the Ghanaian units of UNOCI, noted that since his arrival in Cote d'Ivoire and during his meetings in Abidjan, Bouake and Bondoukou, he was touched by the kind words said about the Ghanaian peacekeepers of UNOCI.

"It's really encouraging for Ghana to continue to work for peace throughout the world," he added.