Chinese peacekeepers verify the minefield together with staff of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). (Photo by Li Zhulin)
BEIJING, June 12 -- The handover ceremony for a new batch of minefields cleared by the Chinese peacekeepers was held near the “Blue Line” on the Lebanon-Israel border. The staff of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Command, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and other departments signed the minefield handover letter after completing the inspection and acceptance of the eight minefields cleared by the 21st Chinese peacekeeping multi-role engineering company to UNIFIL.
Major General Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz, commander of UNIFIL, said that Chinese peacekeepers have superb mine-sweeping skills and completed the tasks very well, and added that China is playing an important role in maintaining world peace.
Landmines and war remnants of unexploded ordnance pose a direct threat to the lives and property of the Lebanese people, seriously impeding agricultural cultivation and infrastructure construction. Chinese peacekeepers in Lebanon have cleared various minefields and returned many pieces of land over the years, making a great contribution to maintaining peace and stability in South Lebanon and promoting local economic and social development.