New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) Even as 9,000 Indian soldiers and paramilitary personnel serve on UN peacekeeping missions in Africa and Asia, over 4,000 army officers and troops are headed for the Congo and Sudan to relieve an equal number serving there.

Of them, 2,770 will go to Congo, where they will be deployed in the restive Katanga province, while 1,660 will travel to Sudan for deployment in the Malakal sector of the Darfur region. Apart from these hotspots, the Indian "blue berets" as the peacekeepers are termed, also serve in Ethiopia/Eritrea, in Lebanon, and on the Golan Heights.

While the current deployment has been termed a "routine turnaround", this is the first time such a large number of soldiers are being rotated at one go. And, in a unique gesture, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the supreme commander of the armed forces, will be addressing them here Monday.

"Since the numbers are so large, both of us (army headquarters and the president's secretariat) felt it would be appropriate for the president to address the troops to wish them Godspeed," Major General R.P.S. Malhan, Additional Director General (Staff Duties) at Army Headquarters, who handles UN deployments, told reporters Thursday.

India's involvement in UN peacekeeping operations began in the mid-1950s when a brigade (3,000 personnel) was deployed to enforce an armistice on the Korean peninsula. Since then, it has contributed 85,000 soldiers for 43 missions worldwide, but the current deployment is the largest at any given time.

Of the 9,000 serving under the UN flag, 8,265, including 26 women, are from the Indian Army, 500 from the Indian Air Force and 125 women troopers of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force.

Of the army troops, 3,707 serve in the Congo, 2,385 in Sudan, 971 in Ethiopia/Eritrea, 835 in Lebanon, and 172 on the Golan Heights. This apart, the army has also deployed 169 officers and observers at different UN missions.

The air force contingent, which includes about a dozen Mi-17 and Mi35 attack helicopters, has been deployed with the Indian troops in the Congo. The women troopers have been deployed in Liberia.

Of all these missions, the one in the Congo is perhaps the most taxing as the troops serve under chapter seven of the UN charter, which means they are permitted to launch a first strike. All the other missions are under chapter six of the charter, meaning the troops can only fire back in self-defence.

The Congo contingent had won accolades during two rounds of presidential elections last year and also when it fought off a rebel threat in November to two towns, including one housing its headquarters.

"The Indian brigade responsible for this volatile region of Congo launched operations for countering the intent of the rebels and ensuring the safety of the two towns," Malhan pointed out.

The contingent in Lebanon also won praise from the UN for standing fast during the month-long bitter fighting between Israeli forces and Hizbollah in July-August last year.

For this, the fourth battalion of the Sikh regiment that was posted in the area at the time and has just returned home, was presented the UNIFIL (UN Interim Force In Lebanon) Unit Citation. Additionally, 73 personnel of the unit were awarded the UNIFIL Force Commander's Special Commendation for outstanding performance during the conflict.

Then UN secretary general Kofi Annan and UN Under Secretary General Jean Marie Guehenno separately visited the battalion after the conflict ended.

"This Indian battalion of UNIFIL has once again, in the most challenging circumstances, shown that the Indian Army will always be a strong pillar for UN peacekeeping," he wrote in the visitors' book.