UNIFIL, Lebanese Army pay last respects to fallen UNIFIL peacekeeper from Ghana

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11 Apr 2018

UNIFIL, Lebanese Army pay last respects to fallen UNIFIL peacekeeper from Ghana

UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) today paid last respects with full honours to Corporal Mercy Adade of the Ghanaian Contingent, who passed away at the age of 36 in the early morning of 5 April following short illness. Cpl. Adade is survived by a son.

Senior UNIFIL officials, including Deputy Force Commander, Major General Shivaram Kharel, LAF Commander’s representative Brigadier General Hasan Haider and fellow UNIFIL peacekeepers assembled at the tarmac of the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut to honour the peacekeeper.

Major General Kharel, Brigadier General Haider and UNIFIL’s Sector West Commander, Brigadier General Rodolfo Sganga, laid a wreath at the airport in memory of late Cpl. Adade, whose body was flown back to Ghana today.

In his remarks at the solemn ceremony, Major General Kharel – representing UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Michael Beary – said words cannot express the pain and sorrow at the loss of one of its peacekeepers.

“On this day, we remember Mercy and the thousands of peacekeepers around the world who have lost their lives in the quest for lasting peace,” he said. “The people of Lebanon and UNIFIL are grateful to Mercy for all her sacrifices. We must all strive to work for peace in memory of all our colleagues who did not make it.”

At the ceremony, Cpl. Adade was honoured posthumously with UNIFIL and LAF Medals.

“We honour her selflessness, bravery and service to the United Nations, Lebanon and Ghana,” said Major General Kharel. “Although she is no longer with us, her legacy will live on.”

Cpl. Adade was a dedicated, hardworking and professional soldier who served in the Ghana Army for about 11 years. Her journey as a peacekeeper began in Côte d’Ivoire about eight years ago and she fought to keep the flag of peace flying right until the end. She was deployed as a medical clerk to UNIFIL on 22 June 2017 for a one-year tour.

“Her loss has left a void in the Ghanaian Battalion and the Ghana Armed Forces that cannot be filled,” said the Commanding Officer of the Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel William Nortey. “Cpl. Mercy had been the pride of Ghana and was a role model to follow in a UN Peacekeeping operation.”

Since UNIFIL’s establishment in 1978, over 300 peacekeepers have died while serving for peace in south Lebanon.


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Article: Tilak Pokharel
Stills: Mohamad Hamze
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