First United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF 1)
- Duration
- 12 November 1956 - 28 December 1956
- Military personnel
- 1
- Fatalities
- none
- Decorations
- none
In July 1956, Egypt’s President Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal. France and Britain responded with military invention and, at more or less the same time, Israel attacked Egypt. The UN, the US and the Soviet Union fiercely condemned these actions.
In resolution 998 (ES-I) on 4 November, the General Assembly decided to establish a peace force which would serve as a buffer force to keep the parties apart until a political solution could be found. The actual mandate for the new peace force, United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), was issued by the General Assembly on 5 November in resolution 1000 (ES-I). UNTSO’s chief of staff, Canadian Major General E.L.M. Burns, was instructed to select officers from his observer corps to form the core of UNEF.