A 156-member team of Bangladesh Army on Sunday night left for Sudan as part of the replacement of the existing United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the war-torn African country, Bangladeshi news agency UNB reported Monday.

The team, led by Lt Col Fateh Alam Ibne Tabid, left for Sudan in an aircraft chartered by the United Nations.

A 12-member media team, headed by Lt Col Golam Kibria, is accompanying the first such batch of the replacing contingent.

A total of 1,437 soldiers will be replaced from Feb. 4 to Aug. 30 by 11 such flights. By the time, 1,431 Bangladesh army personnel will have returned home after completing their mission in Sudan.

Earlier, Brig Gen Kamal Uddin saw the army personnel off at the airport and urged them to discharge their duties with honesty, integrity and sincerity.

Source: Xinhua