China to send more engineering troops to Lebanon

BEIJING - The Chinese government is to send an additional 200-strong construction engineering team to Lebanon in late May at the request of UN, according to the Ministry of Defense.

The troops will be sent to Tyre in south Lebanon to help with ongoing construction projects, repair infrastructure and provide humanitarian aid, according to a statement released Wednesday by the ministry's peacekeeping affairs office.

China dispatched its first detachment of peacekeepers to Lebanon in March 2006. Currently, 180 engineers and 30 medical staff are working there.