A total of 142 Chinese soldiers left Jinan on Tuesday evening for a nine-month UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan's Wau region.

The group was the first batch of the fourth peacekeeping team China sends to the African country.

The fourth team, 435 officers and soldiers in total, has 275 engineers, 100 transport troops and 60 medical staff.

The second and third batches are scheduled to leave for Sudan on June 15 and 20, respectively.

Before their departure, the soldiers underwent intensive training in techniques and English, according to sources with the Jinan Military Command Area.

The fourth peacekeeping team will replace the third team, which was sent last September.

(Xinhua News Agency June 11, 2008)