Chinese peacekeepers to support South Sudan

UN: Mission is to protect civilians, not energy industry infrastructure

Seven hundred Chinese soldiers will join a UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan later this year to provide protection for civilians as a rebellion continues to rock the African country, a UN official said on Wednesday. A previous report said the soldiers were already being deployed.

A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Wednesday that China is currently communicating with the United Nations secretariat over increasing Beijing's support for an earlier UN resolution to deploy additional peacekeepers to the country.