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Chinese peace-keeping troops clear 7,000 mines, bombs in Lebanon |
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10:42, July 10, 2007 |
China's soldiers have destroyed more than 7,000 mines and bombs during their peace-keeping mission in Lebanon in the past 15 months, a military official said Tuesday.
"China's engineer battalion cleared landmines and detonated bombs over about 1.5 million square meters of land in Lebanon and not a single soldier was injured during the mission," the unidentified official said.
A 182-member battalion, formed from an engineer regiment of the People's Liberation Army stationed in southwest China's Yunnan Province, was sent to Lebanon on a UN peace-keeping mission in March 2006, making the Chinese army's debut in the war-torn Middle East region.
The battalion had experience of three overseas demining missions before being sent to Lebanon, the official said.
At the UN's request, the battalion was reinforced to 275 in late January this year.
Being the only engineer troop in the UN peace-keeping force in Lebanon, the battalion also takes up other tasks such as repairing damaged roads, offering logistics for UN troops and rescuing local refugees.
Since signing the Amended Protocol on Landmines in 1998, China has taken part in mine-clearing operations in more than 10 countries in Asia and Africa, providing them with various forms of assistance including financial support, clearing equipment and technical training.
Source: Xinhua
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