Kinshasa, 3 September 2010 – A moving ceremony was held in the headquarters of the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) to salute the three fallen Indian Peacekeepers in Kirumba, North Kivu on 18 August. The Special Representative, Mr. Roger Meece; the Force Commander, Lieutenant General Chander Prakash; the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Missions, Atul Khare, several Congolese officials and members of the diplomatic corps attended were presents.

The ceremony started with prayers for the souls of the three soldiers who "made the supreme sacrifice" to rest in peace and for peace to definitely prevail in the DRC. Then MONUSCO Force Commander called out the names of the three Peacekeepers, and expressed sympathy to their respective families. The three fallen heroes are:

- Sergent Omkar Singh, 42. He is survived by his wife and three sons;
- Corporal Suraj Bhagwan Budania, 28. He is survived by his wife and a son;
- and Private Sepoy Parvinder Singh, the youngest, 25. He is survived by his wife and a young son.

Addressing the ceremony, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary- General in DRC and Chief of MONUSCO, Roger Meece, recalled that the Republic of India is "the largest troop-contributor to the Mission." It therefore plays "a critical role to in restoring peace and security to the DRC (...) a country that will ever remain grateful to it." Mr. Meece voiced the hope that "the sacrifice made by the three soldiers will not go in vain," and expressed condolence to the bereaved family and friends."

On behalf of the Congolese Government the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Simon Bulupiy Galati, paid "a well-deserved hommage to the UN Mission in DRC, and "condemned with the utmost severity the shocking act of cruelty perpetrated by the enemies of peace" against MONUSCO's troops. Mr. Bulupiy took the occasion to reiterate "DRC Government's firm determination to back the Mission's challenging tasks."

After the laying of wreaths and a minute of silence the ceremony ended with the signing of the condolence book by the officials present.

The three Indian Peacekeepers were killed during the night of 17 to 18 August in an attack on their base in Kirumba, 150 Km from North Goma, by a group of armed men. Seven other Indian soldiers were also wounded. Investigations are under way.