By Zhang Senlin and Peng Kuang
JINAN, May. 27 (ChinaMil) -- On Sunday afternoon, after completing the peacekeeping mission entrusted by the United Nations, the 2nd echelon of 190 peacekeeping officers and soldiers of the 6th Chinese peacekeeping force to Mali returned home. The 1st echelon of 205 Chinese peacekeeping officers and soldiers to Mali had returned home on May 19. So far, all the 6th Chinese peacekeeping forces to Mali have returned to their troops in China.
The 6th Chinese peacekeeping force to Mali is composed of 395 personnel, including an engineer contingent and a guard contingent with personnel drawn from the PLA 80th Group Army, and a medical contingent with members mainly from the 969th Hospital of Shenyang Joint Logistic Support Center. They had flown to Mali in last May, to perform one-year peacekeeping mission.
During the one-year mission, the Chinese peacekeepers overcame various difficulties and challenges such as harsh natural environment and severe external situation, and completed each task at high standards, with a total of 64,000 troops deployed and more than 7,000 vehicles dispatched. Total working hours amounted to 412,000.
The engineer contingent had completed 65 tasks including barrack construction, set-up of prefab houses for the transport battalion, and the defense reinforcement of the Super Camp. The guard contingent had completed the defense tasks for the Sector East Command of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the Super Camp of the MINUSMA in Gao. The medical contingent functioned to guarantee the health and epidemic prevention, medical rescue for the UN peacekeeping forces, as well as to provide medical assistance for local people. All 395 personnel were awarded the United Nations Peace Medal of Honor.