1960 — The Blue Helmets Land

On July 16, 1960, the blue helmets arrived in Congo. Just two days after the Security Council created the ONUC mission, the first United Nations peacekeepers landed, answering Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba's desperate plea for help. Troops from Ghana, the first to arrive, stepped off transport planes at Léopoldville.

They were joined by contingents from Tunisia, Morocco, and Ethiopia. In total, nearly 20,000 soldiers from thirty countries would serve in the mission, protecting civilians and securing the airports as the country fractured. Many Congolese still remember those very first Ghanaian troops with deep and lasting gratitude for answering the plea so quickly.