United Nations, Jan 23 (IANS) The commander of an all-women Indian UN police unit has arrived in Liberia to head the world body's first ever such specialized force sent on a peacekeeping operation.

Commander Seema Dhundiya, who heads the Formed Police Unit (FPU), arrived in the capital Monrovia Sunday as part of an advance team that will pave the way for the landmark deployment of a 125-strong force this month.

With her came logistics and engineering specialists who will prepare for the rest of her unit, expected around Jan 29, said Ben Dotsei Malor, spokesperson for the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

The FPU contingent will be made up of 103 women officers and 22 male staff serving in logistic roles. The women will be formed into three platoons of 30 women each, comprising one platoon leader and 29 officers. While the contingent will be based in Monrovia, they may be deployed anywhere in the country.

India's decision to send the all-women officers to assist the UNMIL operation was announced in September, and the team has been undergoing intensive training over the past few months.

The UN has had increasing success with FPUs over the past few years as a means of bridging the gap between regular and lightly armed police and fully armed blue helmets.

The FPU, which will be better armed than a regular unit, will provide general support to UN police activities in Liberia, including protecting UN officials and civilian police as they perform their duties. It will also act as a rapid reaction force for crowd control and help train local police officers, the world body said.

The women's FPU represents further effort by the UN to attract women police officers into peacekeeping operations worldwide. As of 2006-end, while there were 8,482 staff, only 454 - around four percent - were women officers.

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