Six Bangladeshi peacekeepers honoured posthumously with UN medal

The UN pays tribute to personnel killed in service, including six Bangladeshis who died in a Sudan mission last year

Six Bangladeshi peacekeepers who lost their lives while serving under the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) have been posthumously awarded the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal.

The ceremony was held marking the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers at UN Headquarters in New York on Friday.

The medals were handed over by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to Bangladesh Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury during the commemorative event, according to a media statement issued by the Bangladesh Mission to the United Nations in New York.

The fallen peacekeepers -- Corporal Md Masud Rana, Private Md Jahangir Alam, Private Md Sobuj Mia, Private Md Mominul Islam, Private Shamim Reza and Private Santo Mondol -- were killed in a drone strike on Dec 13, 2025, while serving under the UN flag in Sudan’s Kadugli.

During the ceremony, the UN Secretary-General “laid a wreath in honour of nearly 4,500 peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the line of duty since 1948”, and called for a minute of silence in their memory, the statement said.

He also underscored the contribution of more than 50,000 UN peacekeepers currently deployed worldwide “to protect civilians and support peace in conflict-affected regions”.

This year, the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal was awarded to 68 military, police and civilian peacekeepers from 33 member states who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of the United Nations.

Following the ceremony, Ambassador Noman paid tribute to the fallen Bangladeshi peacekeepers by signing the Book of Condolence in their memory.