BEIJING, April18, (ChinaMil) -- The inaugural meeting of the 8th Chinese peacekeeping force to Darfur in Sudan was convened in a mechanized infantry brigade under the Jinan Military Area Command (MAC) of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on the afternoon of April 17, 2013. A total of 225 peacekeeping officers and men will be divided into two groups and successively dispatched to Darfur in Sudan for peacekeeping missions starting from April 22.
The peacekeeping missions this time will be quite different from previous ones. The United Nations (UN) adjusted the formation and missions of the Chinese peacekeeping force, namely reduced the number of personnel to 225 from 315, increased the scope of mission area by four times and expanded it to the whole Darfur area. In addition, highly dangerous missions including mine clearance and destruction of explosives are added.
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