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China dispatches six more UN military observers to Syria

Xinhua, May 14, 2012

• Six Chinese United Nations (UN) military observers left Beijing for Syria on Monday to monitor a ceasefire, upon the UN's request.

  The move has brought the number of Chinese military observers in Syria to eight. The other two observers have arrived in Damascus on April 25.

  The spokesman of the peace-keeping affairs office of the Ministry of National Defense, said China had selected for the mission six military officers who had good professional, foreign language and driving skills.

  All the six have participated in the UN's previous peacekeeping missions and received intensive training in anti-terrorism, anti-abduction, explosive identification, first-aid and car repairing. They have military rankings up to colonel.

  On April 21, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to approve the deployment to Syria of up to 300 unarmed UN military observers in order to monitor a fragile ceasefire between the Syrian government forces and armed opposition fighters.

  By the end of April, 2012, China had dispatched 1,425 UN military observers, and 83 are now carrying out peacekeeping missions in 11 areas.

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