A team of 170 Chinese soldiers left for UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon Monday aboard a chartered flight from Kunming, capital of southwest Yunnan Province.

They formed the first batch of the fifth engineering battalion and the fourth medical team that China will send to Lebanon.

Another team of 165 soldiers, including 30 medical staff, are scheduled to depart for the Middle East country on Feb. 26.

The soldiers, all from southwest China's Chengdu Military Command, will replace previous teams.

During their eight-month term in the bordering area of south Lebanon, the engineering battalion, 275 soldiers in total, will engage in mine sweeping and explosive removal. They will also build roads, bridges, and maintain airports.

The 60-member medical team will care for the sick and wounded and conduct epidemic prevention work.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has sent 11,063 military personnel to participate in 18 UN peacekeeping operations since 1990, according to a white paper on the country's national defense in 2008 which was issued earlier this year. Eight soldiers lost their lives on duty.

In the past 18 years, Chinese peacekeepers have built more than 7,000 kilometers of roads and 200 bridges, treated more than 40,000 patients, and cleared more than 7,000 explosives, figures from the white paper showed.

(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2009)