DAKAR, Oct. 25 -- The detachment to Menaka assigned by the 9th Chinese peacekeeping engineer contingent to Mali departed from the military airport in Gao for Menaka on October 23, local time.
The 38-member detachment was assigned to perform nine engineering tasks in 10 months, including bunker construction, road repairing, and prefab house construction in Menaka, a place more than 300 kilometers away from the camp of the Chinese peacekeeping engineer contingent to Mali.
The deployment of the Chinese peacekeeping detachment to Menaka was in accordance with the requirement of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and was highly recognized by the chief executive of MINUSMA Sector East.
It is learnt that Menaka, adjacent to Niger, is an important military town in the mission area of MINUSMA Sector East. With frequent local violent terrorist attacks and severe security threats, it has been one of the riskiest areas in Mali and labeled the "most dangerous zone" by MINUSMA.