First echelon of 20th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon set out

KUNMING, July 30 -- The first echelon's 205 members of the 20th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon left from Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan Province for Lebanon on July 28. They will rotate the 19th contingent stationed in southern Lebanon and carry out a one-year peacekeeping mission.

The contingent has a total of 410 members, consisting of a 180-member multi-role engineering detachment, a 200-member construction detachment, and a 30-member medical detachment. Those peacekeepers come from the PLA's 74th Group Army, 75th Group Army, and the Guilin Joint Logistic Support Center. They would be responsible for tasks of demining and detonation, construction and maintenance, health care and pandemic prevention, humanitarian rescue and others.

After receiving the task in May 2021, the peacekeeping members have carried out closed intensive training on subjects such as demining and detonation, emergency defense, and trauma treatment, as well as realistic combat drills simulating various emergencies.

'Before the expedition, all the peacekeepers had passed the comprehensive assessment and are capable of performing peacekeeping tasks,' said Ye Fangchao, commander of the 20th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon.

According to the plan, the second echelon of the 20th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon will head for the mission area in mid-August.