By Zhang Boyu, Gao Yan, Tan Junyang and Zeng Xuetong

BEIJING, Oct. 10 -- On the afternoon of October 1, Beirut time, a medal-awarding ceremony for the 23rd Chinese Peacekeeping Troops to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was held at the Chinese camp in the south Lebanese village of Hinnieh. All 475 peacekeepers of the Chinese contingent were awarded the UN Peace Medal of Honor. More than 200 guests, including the Head of the UNIFIL Force Commander Major General Diodato Abagnara, Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Chen Chuandong, Deputy Head of the UNIFIL Hervé Lecoq, commanders of other troop-contributing countries, and military and political officials of Lebanon, attended the ceremony.

Major General Abagnara awarded the UN Peace Medals of Honor to Colonel Lin Wanlei, the commander of the Chinese peacekeeping troops, Lieutenant Colonel Li Jia, the deputy commander and political commissar, and eight other commanders of the Chinese Multi-Role Engineering Contingent, the Chinese Construction Engineering Contingent and the Chinese Medical Contingent. Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Chen Chuandong, Deputy Head of the UNIFIL Hervé Lecoq and other senior officials presented the medals to each of the remaining Chinese peacekeepers.

Later in his address, Major General Abagnara stated that the Chinese peacekeeping troops have not only inherited the glorious tradition of the Chinese military but also demonstrated excellent performance in tasks including road construction, debris clearing, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), and patient treatment. Furthermore, they have closely collaborated with other friendly forces, exerting strong influence on local communities through concrete actions and bringing security and hope to the people of southern Lebanon.

It is learned that since their deployment to the mission area in mid-December 2024, the 23rd Chinese Peacekeeping Troops to the UNIFIL have achieved remarkable results in three key areas. In terms of engineering support, they cleared 50 roadblocks, reopened 1,924 meters of blocked roads, removed 714 cubic meters of debris, and repaired 44 defensive facilities. In terms of EOD, they cleared more than 70,000 square meters of battlefield areas and 4,267 square meters of minefields, discovering and disposing of 49 landmines and unexploded ordnance, 667 pieces of artillery shells, bullets and other debris, and destroying over 270 kilograms of expired ammunition. Through humanitarian assistance, they conducted 61 medical missions, treating over 3,300 patients, performing 16 surgeries. They also donated supplies worth over 70,000 USD to the local communities and assisted in the renovation of a local public technical school . The Chinese peacekeepers accomplished 183 tasks assigned by the UNIFIL with consistent first-class standards and speed, and were thereby praised by the engineering department of the UNIFIL as the "UNIFIL's model of the highest construction standard".