By Liu Jinqing and Yu Donghai

JUBA, January 8 -- The 6th Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion to South Sudan finished its first short-distance patrol and escort mission in 2020 and safely returned to their barracks on January 8, local time. Chinese peacekeepers were highly praised in the Juba Theater and by the escorted personnel and contingents.

This short-distance mission was jointly assigned by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Juba Theater.

In order to carry out the mission with a high standard, Chinese battalion , before setting out, conducted comprehensive information collection and analysis on the patrol areas and their military, social and natural conditions, and made as detailed primary judgment as possible. Such thorough preparations laid a solid foundation for them to effectively deal with emergencies such as surprise inspection by local armed forces, vehicle breakdown and traffic obstruction.

Before the Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion set out, it was assigned an additional task - to provide armed escort for the military observers and the Bangladesh detachments.

The battalion adjusted its plan in a timely manner to combine the two tasks, increased escorting strength and worked in close coordination with their foreign counterparts.

During the 170km patrol and escort route, the Chinese peacekeepers passed 16 sensitive locations including local inspection points and about-100-kilometer bad road featuring dangerous bridges, hurdles and bumps.

The patrol and escort mission was an overall test to the real-combat capability of the Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion since it was deployed to the mission area, and gained valuable experience for it to perform other patrol and armed escort missions in the future.