A contingent of 180 Bangladesh police officers, including 70 female members, departed Dhaka early Tuesday morning to join the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo. The unit, led by Superintendent of Police Jannatul Afroz, received a formal send-off at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport from Additional IGP Khondker Rafiqul Islam, DIG Rezaul Karim, and UN Operations Wing officials. Bangladesh first joined UN peacekeeping in 1989 in Namibia, and currently, 215 Bangladeshi police officers are serving worldwide. To date, 24 Bangladeshi peacekeepers have laid down their lives in the line of duty.