By Zhang Yiwei and Li Guanghui
WAU, South Sudan, March 14 – Major General Marco Machado, chief of general staff of the UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), recently inspected the 12th Chinese peacekeeping engineering contingent to South Sudan.
Maj. Gen. Marco Machado listened to the Chinese peacekeeping contingent’s work report and inspected their peacekeeping equipment including communications devices, weapons, medical apparatus, and engineering and surveying devices. He stated that the UNMISS will provide assistance to the Chinese peacekeepers in their challenges and difficulties. At the same time, he also expressed the gratitude for their outstanding contributions to the peacekeeping cause and the construction and development of South Sudan.
It is learned that the engineering contingent is mainly comprised of a brigade of the 82nd Group Army under the PLA Central Theater Command, which includes sappers, guards, repair, logistics, and medical units. Since assigned to the mission area last December, the contingent has completed a series of tasks from repairing roads outside the UN compound in Wau, surveying for road construction on the key supply line, to culvert pipe laying at the UN Camp in Kuajok.
To date, all the three engineering support teams have been deployed to the provisional barracks 100km away for the construction of the main supply line.
