On March 19 the 5th Lithuanian Armed Forces Force Protection Unit (FPU-5) will be farewelled before deploying to the United Nations stabilisation operation in Mali, MINUSMA, at a ceremony in Vytautas the Great War Museum garden in Kaunas.
The event is planned to be attended by the Lithuanian Land Force leadership, representatives of Kaunas city and region municipalities, families of the soldiers, and other guests. Chief of Staff of the Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Force Linas Kubilius will present the national flag of Lithuania to the commander of the deploying rotation and souvenirs to all deployed soldiers.
The FPU-5 will leave for Mali with the German Contingent in early April. They will replace soldiers of the 3rd Territorial Unit, Žemaitija Military District, National Defence Volunteer Force, in the area of operation after six month-long rotation. The former FPU rotation is planned to return to Lithuania in the middle of April.
The fifth rotation of the Force Protection Unit consists of 34 career soldiers and volunteer soldiers with the 2nd Territorial Unit of Darius and Girėnas Military District and the 3rd Territorial Unit of Žemaitija Military District of the National Defence Volunteer Force. Lithuanians in MINUSMA a responsible for ensuring force protection in the military base compound in eastern Mali, GAO province. Aside from the Force Protection Unit and the National Support Element, Lithuania also delegates 5 Lithuanian soldiers to serve in MINUSMA operational headquarters in Bamako and Timbuktu.
Lithuanian soldiers do not engage in combat actions in Operation MINUSMA.
The United Nations launched the Multinational Integrated Stabilization Mission, MINUSMA, in Mali in 2013. MINUSMA is aimed at stabilising the country, supporting the implementation of the transitional action plan, protecting civilian population, promoting and protecting human rights, arranging humanitarian aid, preserving cultural heritage, and ensuring justice at national and international levels
POC – Sgt 1st Class Ramūnas Kemežys, Senior CIMIC Specialist, Darius and Girėnas military District, NDVF +370 671 10179
