China is deploying its second group of peacekeepers today to the war-torn West African nation of Liberia to replace those sent last year.

The military peacekeepers will be responsible for the safe transport of goods and personnel during their eight-month tour of duty, reported China Central Television on Tuesday.

At the request of the UN and approved by the Chinese government and Central Military Commission, China sent the first contingent to Liberia on December 10, 2003.

Since 2000, China has joined peacekeeping missions in East Timor, Liberia and Kosovo and elsewhere, but it had never before sent combat troops overseas.

According to the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army, before their departure the soldiers received intensive training in weapons handling, field survival, land mine removal and first aid.

On Saturday, a team of 125 police officers and border guards from Guangdong headed for Langfang City, in north China's Hebei Province, to be trained for a peacekeeping mission in Haiti.

The 125-member force, which includes four women, will join a multinational unit on the troubled Caribbean island next year. The unit is specially trained in crowd control and handling riots.

Ninety-five riot police, including 13 women, left Beijing for Haiti in October, the first Chinese troops to be deployed to the Western Hemisphere.

(China Daily CCTV.com December 22, 2004)