Chinese peacekeepers leave for DRC

XI'AN, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The first echelon of a team of Chinese engineering and medical troops on Tuesday left for an eight-month UN-mandated peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Departing aboard a chartered plane from Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, they are among a total of 218 peacekeepers in the 15th batch set to be dispatched by China to the central African nation since 2003.

The second echelon of peacekeepers will leave for the DRC early next month.

According to military sources, the troops, mainly selected from the Lanzhou Military Command Area, received three months of intensified training before being sent to the DRC, and they are capable of performing tasks associated with engineering projects and medical support for peacekeeping purposes.

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