By Kong Kangyi and Liang Yuyuan
BEIRUT, Sept. 18 -- All 64 members of the 20th Chinese peacekeeping multi-functional engineering contingent to Lebanon passed a three-day assessment by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and obtained the mine clearance and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) qualifications on September 15, local time.
After a three-day assessment from September 13 to 15, 51 deminers, five EOD operators, and eight medical personnel from the contingent passed the assessment with their superb technology and standardized procedures.
The mine clearance qualification certification can be obtained only after passing strict tests on more than 30 items in 13 subjects, such as mine-detector debugging, signal source positioning, excavation and destruction of mine, minefield rescue, and unexploded object disposal.
The assessment for mine clearance qualification certification was conducted by the UNMAS, with UNMAS Lebanon helping with the organization and guidance of the event.
“The Chinese mine clearance detachment has done a great job. I believe that the new batch of Chinese mine clearance contingent will work as their predecessors and return the land that is free from mines to the Lebanese people in a safe and productive manner,” said Alan Macdonald, UNMAS Programme Manager in Lebanon, after witnessing the superb mine clearance technology of the Chinese peacekeepers. “On behalf of the UNMAS and the Lebanon Mine Action Authority (LMAA), I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the Chinese minesweepers for their commitment.”
Obtaining the certification marks the official start of mine clearance jobs for the 20th Chinese peacekeeping multi-functional engineering cintingent to Lebanon. They will go to the minefields along the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel to eliminate local mine hazards and protect the lives and property of the Lebanese people.