184 Cambodian Peacekeepers Sent To Lebanon

KAMPONG SPEU, Cambodia, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) — Cambodia sent the 10th batch of 184 peacekeepers, including 24 women, to join a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon on Wednesday.

The military engineering group would substitute the ninth batch, whose one-year term had come to an end, said Pol Saroeun, a senior minister in charge of sending troops to the UN peacekeeping missions.

He said the event once again showed Cambodia’s active contributions to maintaining peace, security and stability in the region and in the world.

He advised them to strictly abide by the UN rules and disciplines, the Royal Cambodian Army’s code of ethics, and the host country’s laws.

“It’s necessary to create good relations with the host country and people and to respect their tradition and custom,” he said during a farewell ceremony held at the Training School for Multinational Peacekeeping Forces here.

Sem Sovanny, director-general of the National Centre for Peacekeeping Forces, said the peacekeepers will work on landmine clearance and construction of roads, bridges, shelters and pumping wells.

He said the Southeast Asian nation first sent troops overseas on the U.N. peacekeeping missions in 2006.

To date, the country has provided a total of 6,557 troops, including 338 women, to partake in the UN peacekeeping operations in nine war-torn countries, mainly in the African continent. XINHUA