 | Chinese soldiers from an engineering unit practice at an army camp in Qinyang in Henan province September 15, 2007. Rebels on Saturday demanded Beijing pull its peacekeepers out of Darfur, just hours after a unit of Chinese army engineers flew into the Sudanese region.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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Chinese engineering units have arrived in the western Sudanese region of Darfur to take part in a peacekeeping mission, jointly organized by the UN and the African Union.
The 135 Chinese peacekeepers were warmly welcomed by the UN, the AU and Sudanese officials at Niyala International Airport. They were joined by the five Chinese officers who arrived earlier this year.
Their task is essential to the increasing number of UN peacekeepers in the region.
Shangguan Linhong, Engineering Unit Leader, said, "The main task for the Chinese engineering units is to build camps, roads and to dig wells in preparation for the deployment of peacekeepers from other countries."
The Chinese government decided to send a multifunctional engineering unit with a total of 315 soldiers and officers at the request of the UN in April. The other 175 peacekeepers will be sent to Darfur in succession.
The force will be deployed in Nyala, capital of Sudan's southern Darfur state.
Since it was formed in mid-June, the engineering unit has attended intensive courses, from emergency first aid and simulating Darfur's hot weather conditions to studying UN regulations in order to understand Sudanese culture. Everyone can communicate in English to some degree.
This is the first batch of the UN peacekeepers arriving in the region to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1769 adopted on July 31st. The Resolution authorizes the deployment of a 26-thousand strong hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur.
Source: CCTV.com
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