The

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

"N" Military Unit", also known informally as the Azerbaijani Peacekeeping Battalion is the primary peacekeeping unit of the Azerbaijani Land Forces.

History

The Army's peacekeeping detachment was formed in 1997 and was later transformed into a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

. Soldiers are carefully selected for the Baku "N" Unit. Since September 1999, Azerbaijani servicemen served with multinational intervention forces in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

, and the U.S.-led forces in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. They still serve with the UN Mission in South Sudan. Azerbaijan has also floated the idea of creating peacekeeping units to be deployed in

separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, regional, governmental, or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seekin ...

conflict areas of

GUAM Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

countries.

Personnel

The unit is trained intensively on tactical preparation, sports, foreign languages, contacts with local residents and other subjects. After six months of training, members are sent to join peacekeeping operations.

Deployments

Kosovo

The Azerbaijani peacekeeping unit in Kosovo (1 officer, 1 sergeant and 32 soldiers) carried service from September 1999 within the Turkish battalion. The Azerbaijanis oversaw eighteen settlements in the area. On 26 February 2008, as Kosovo declared its independence, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev addressed the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

to call for the withdrawal of Azerbaijani peacekeepers from Kosovo. The address was considered at Assembly session on 4 March 2008 and accepted with eighty seven votes in favor, three against and two abstainations. On April 15 of the same year the

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

returned to Azerbaijan. Overall about 400 Azerbaijani servicemen have administered peacekeeping in Kosovo.

Iraq

Azerbaijani servicemen were deployed to Iraq as part of Combined Joint Task Force 7 in 2003. The peacekeeping unit consisted of 14 officers, 16 sergeants and 120 privates, who secured the hydroelectric power station and reservoir in Haditha from August 2003. One company of Azerbaijani peacekeepers commanded by Captain Nasimi Javadov guarded the area of Haditha Dam, which is one of the principal sources of electricity in Iraq. An Azerbaijani delegation headed by the Deputy Minister of Defense visited the Hadithah Dam at the invitation of the Marine Corps officials. From 2004 the company became part of Multi-National Forces West, led by the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. Ilham Aliyev’s address to recall the Azerbaijani peacekeepers in Iraq was accepted at the

plenary session A plenary session or plenum is a session of a conference or deliberative assembly in which all parties or members are present. Such a session may include a broad range of content, from keynotes to panel discussions, and is not necessarily r ...

of National Assembly by eighty six votes in favor and one against Four Azerbaijani officers in Iraq (Maj. Huseyn Dashdamirov, Capt. Nasimi Javadov, Capt. Alizamin Karimov and Sr. Lt. Abdulla Abdullayev) have been awarded the US Navy and Marines Corps

Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious se ...

. During the Iraq peacekeeping mission, one Azerbaijani serviceman (Rafael Agayev) died. He had served in Iraq for one year and on 27 June 2008, Agayev's body was sent to his homeland, where he was buried in his native village.

Afghanistan

Azerbaijan joined with platoon to

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

(ISAF) consisting of 21 soldiers, one officer and one NCO in November 2002 with the aim of contributing to provision of peace, security and order in Afghanistan. The Azerbaijani platoon commanded by First Lieutenant Shamil Mammadov performed patrolling duties in the populated district of southern

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. On 2 October 2008 the National Assembly passed a decision to send 45 more peacekeepers to Afghanistan. In an interview to Azerbaijani Press Agency Brigadier-General Richard Blanchette said: "As the spokesperson for ISAF on behalf of General McKiernan, the Commander of ISAF, I thank your country, your soldiers, and the families of your soldiers, for their contribution to this vital mission". The number of peacekeepers serving in the

Resolute Support mission Resolute Support Mission (RSM) or Operation Resolute Support was a NATO-led multinational mission in Afghanistan. It began on 1 January 2015 as the successor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was completed on 28 Dece ...

was raised from 94 to 120 on 9 January 2018, according to the amendment to the Resolution "On giving consent to the deployment and participation in the relevant operations in Afghanistan of a platoon of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan as part of the battalion of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Turkey and under the general command of NATO structures" by the Milli Majlis on 29 December 2017.

Gallery

File:Azeri peacekeepers, Al Asad, Iraq.jpg, Azerbaijani peacekeepers during a ceremony recognizing their contribution to

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

at Camp Ripper in Al Asad. File:2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade-9.jpeg, The members of the peacekeeping forces, led by Major Elshad Rustamov, during the 2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade. File:75Parad 04.jpg, Members of the peacekeeping brigade in full combat uniform during the 2020 Moscow Victory Day Parade. File:Azerbaijani soldiers in Iraq 23.jpg, Azerbaijani peacekeepers, securing the Haditha Dam.

Notes

External links

Small country, big mission: Azerbaijanis complete tour in Iraq (Marines.mil)
{{Azerbaijan topics Foreign relations of Azerbaijan Military of Azerbaijan Military units and formations established in 1997 Peacekeeping Military units and formations of Azerbaijani Land Forces