Peacekeeping differs from combat: iLIVE

The deaths of South African soldiers in the Central African Republic and the kidnapping of peacekeeping soldiers in Syria expose peacekeeping as a global hazard.

The distinction between peacekeeping and the restoration of order is more than semantic.

Military forces are deployed in certain situations to restore order, and such operations may help create the condition for peacekeeping. But they are, nevertheless, combat operations, which entail costs and risks not normally associated with peacekeeping.

Units fight to accomplish their task, and they go in with enough force to ensure success. Units assigned to peacekeeping missions prepare not to fight; this is reflected in the rules of engagement, which limit the use of deadly force to immediate self-defence.