A second Chinese engineering battalion headed for Lebanon on Monday to join the UN peacekeeping mission there.

 

A total of 143 peacekeepers took a UN chartered flight on Monday evening from Kunming, capital of southwest Yunnan Province, to replace the first engineering battalion deployed from the same military command in April 2006.

 

The second engineering battalion comprises of 275 personnel as well as a medical team consisting of 60 members. The rest of the battalion will leave for Lebanon in February.

 

During its eight-month term, the first team were honored by the UN for their contribution to the mission.

 

China has sent 6,000 military personnel to participate in 16 UN peacekeeping operations since it began to participate in UN peacekeeping operations in the 1990s.

 

Eight Chinese peacekeepers have died and dozens have been wounded in the line of duty.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2007)