UNIFIL’s Ghanaian peacekeepers marked the Independence Day of the Republic of Ghana this week with a colourful all women Special Forces parade held at their main base in Al-Qawzah, south-western Lebanon.

Fellow UNIFIL peacekeepers, Ghanaians living in Lebanon and locals attended the colourful ceremony on 6 March. Guests were treated to spectacular drill performances, rich Ghanaian cultural dances, music and food.

Addressing the ceremony, Ghana’s Honourary Consul General to Lebanon, Michel Haddad, commended the Ghanaian Battalion for the latter’s effort in furthering peace in south Lebanon.

Ghana has been UNIFIL’s troop contributor since the Mission’s establishment in 1978. UNIFIL’s first Head of Mission and Force Commander, General Emmanuel Erskine, was also from Ghana. UNIFIL currently has some 870 peacekeepers from Ghana, with highest number of women troops (107, as at 28 February 2019).

Ghana got independence from the British rule on 6 March 1957.