GAO, Mali, April 8 -- Recently, the 9th Chinese peacekeeping engineering contingent to Mali has begun the construction of a new ammunition depot for the Jordanian ground element at the request of the Jordanian peacekeeping force to Mali.
|Due to years of rainwash and poor maintenance, the old ammunition depot has been out of normal use. It is in urgent need to build a new one to ensure the safety of the peacekeepers and ammunitions.
According to the mission issued by the Engineering Office under the Sector East Command of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the construction task ranks Level 1 in priority, and the Chinese peacekeepers should complete the construction of the new depot within 30 working days.
It is scorching hot during the daytime in Gao, with a maximum temperature of 47℃ in the afternoon. If a terrorist attack warning is received in advance, the Chinese peacekeeping engineers have to be fully armed with the body armor and helmet weighing over 20 kg, to carry out the construction operation. Under such severe natural conditions and the threat of terrorist attacks, they need to work 9 hours per day on average.