The 13th Chinese Peacekeeping Horizontal Engineering Company to UNMISS conducts soil excavation operations at the construction site. (Photo by Luo Kun)
WAU, South Sudan, June 25 -- The 13th Chinese Peacekeeping Horizontal Engineering Company to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has repaired a total of 179 kilometers of supply lines in Western Bahr el Ghazal, Warrap State, and Unity State after six months' arduous work.
At the beginning of this year, the UNMISS assigned the Chinese peacekeepers to restore an important local supply route between Warrap State and Unity State, which serves as a vital lifeline for local transportation. However, this route was seriously damaged due to long-term surging floods and passing vehicles. If it can not be repaired timely, the local people's daily lives would become tougher once the rainy season started.
The supply route spans the UNMISS Sector West and Sector Unity, which made this mission the first cross-sector construction operation in the history of UNMISS. Add to this, the security situation in the Sector Unity has been tense, while some construction areas are adjacent to the disputed regions. The difficulty of the task was thus greatly increased.
While the Chinese contingent dispatched peacekeepers to get down to the construction work, the UNMISS assigned another route construction task. This meant that the Chinese peacekeepers had to work simultaneously at two places, and the newly added construction site was over two hundred kilometers away.
Faced with enormous challenges, the Chinese peacekeepers showed great enthusiasm. Against scorching heat, rampant mosquitoes, and other harsh natural conditions, they worked hard and efficiently completed the construction tasks. Despite the lack of specialized equipment and materials, they managed to repair multiple severely damaged bridges by adopting innovative construction measures based on local conditions.
Lieutenant General Mohan Subramanian, the Force Commander of UNMISS, expressed his appreciation to members of the 13th Chinese Peacekeeping Horizontal Engineering Company to the UNMISS during his recent inspection. He commended them for never backing down in the face of difficulties, and for timely restoring these lifelines of material supply and emergency medical treatment.
