Kazbat peacemakers make friends with Iraqi people

Between peacemakers from the field engineer detachment of Kazakhstani peace battalion "Kazbat" staying in Iraq and local population friendly relations are established, Mukhtar Altynbayev, minister of defence of RK, said on 26 September in Almaty.

The minister observed that on his order the peacemakers established friendly relations with the local population, "showing that we have come not to fight, but to help". This policy already brings its fruit, М. Altynbayev said. Local residents apply to the detachment command with requests to demine sectors with mines remaining from the past conflicts.

Earlier it was reported that Kazakhstani peace unit arrived to Iraq in late August, and on 5 September the field engineer detachment started its work. During their stay in Iraq Kazakhstani peacemakers destroyed around 30 thousand units of ammunition.

The detachment is dislocated North East from Baghdad, on the border with Iran, in Polish responsibility area. The main tasks of peacemakers are demining and provision of potable water.