7th Chinese peacekeeping troops to Darfur depart

The first echelon including 150 officers and men of the 7th Chinese peacekeeping engineering detachment to Darfur, Sudan, departed from the Yaoqiang International Airport in Jinan, capital city of east China's Shandong province, at 21:00 of July 18, 2012, and officially embarked on the tour of duty thousands of miles away.

According to Song Hongxiao, chief of staff of a group army under the Jinan Military Area Command (MAC) of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), 315 officers and men were mainly selected from a group army under the Jinan MAC with some officers and men from a regiment under the Beijing MAC. The second echelon including 165 officers and men will fly to Sudan on July 26.

Ever since it took up the peacekeeping mission, the 7th Chinese peacekeeping engineering detachment to Darfur, Sudan has focused on the characteristics of the mission area, and ensured its officers and men be proficient in the equipment usage as well as the maintenance skills through mission-oriented professional trainings and competitions. They've also concentrated on the study of those provisions related to the UN peacekeeping operation as well as the laws, regulations and religious policies of Sudan, and constantly strengthened the officers and men's foreign language communication training and psychological training so as to elevate the peacekeeping officers and men's capability in responding to and handling emergencies.