At the request of the United Nations, the People's Liberation Army sent the troops, made up of 35 engineers, 65 medical workers and 35 soldiers, to join the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali for eight months. A 135-strong peacekeeping troop left for Mali on Tuesday, December 3, 2013, evening, in the first time China's army has sent security forces as part of a peacekeeping mission.
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| Chinese peacekeeping troops board a plane at the international airport in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, on Tuesday, December 3, 2013, evening. |