KUALA LUMPUR: The blast in Lebanon, which injured six members of the Malaysian Battalion Force (Malbatt 850-12) operating under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), has shocked the entire nation.
In the incident, which occurred at 1.54 pm local time (7.54 pm Malaysian time), five members of Malbatt 850-12 who had just arrived in the country sustained minor injuries, with one of them injuring his hand. Another injured soldier belonged to the Malbatt 850-11 troop.
This incident has also raised public awareness in Malaysia about the presence of its military personnel as part of the UN peacekeeping forces.
Here are five facts about Malbatt:
1. After the end of the 1960 emergency, Malaysia embarked on peace missions as the 16th country to deploy its forces under the UN flag, tasked with maintaining peace in the conflict-ridden Republic of Congo.
The Fourth Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment, led by Lieutenant Colonel Ungku Nasarudin, was the first battalion to serve in Congo that year.
Three years later, the Malaysian army's service with the UN in Congo concluded with the return of the Second Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment to Malaysia on April 28 1963.
2. The deployment of staff in the UNTAC Mission (UN Transitional Assistance in Namibia) began in February 1989 and lasted until April 1990, during which they became known as Malbatt.
3. The peacekeeping mission in Somalia, or United Nations Operation in Somalia (Unosom), is one of the country's most memorable assignments, as the battalion was involved in a combat mission to rescue American Rangers trapped in Bakara Market, Mogadishu, on Oct 3 and 4, 1993.
According to former Malaysian Battalion (Malbatt) 1 Commander Datuk Abdul Latif Ahmad, who served under the Unosom II, the rescue mission was challenging, critical, harrowing, and terrifying.
He said it left a profound impact on all those involved, and some may still be disturbed and traumatised by the incident.
In the mission, Malaysian soldier Corporal Mat Aznan Awang, who was involved as the driver of an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), was killed in an ambush.
The incident also injured nine other soldiers. Last year marked the 30th anniversary of Malbatt's involvement in that incident, and the film Malbatt Misi Bakara, which cost RM20 million to produce, became the country's most expensive film.
4. Apart from the Republic of Congo, Namibia, and Somalia, Malbatt has also been deployed in Cambodia (UNAMIC/UNTAC/UNMLT) starting in November 1991; Somalia (UNOSOM) from 1993 to 1995; Bosnia Herzegovina (UNPROFOR/IFOR/SFOR) from 1993 to 1998.
Additionally, it has served in East Timor (INTERFET/UNTAET) in 1999; Ethiopia (UN MEE) in December 2000; and on a Special Operation in Timor-Leste (MALCON) in 2006.
5. Malaysia, along with 33 other countries contributing to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), signed a joint statement calling for the protection of UN peacekeepers.
Other countries that signed this joint statement include Armenia, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, and France.
The other countries are Ghana, Guatemala, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Latvia, Malta, Mongolia, Nepal, the Netherlands, Poland, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Tanzania.