By Li Bo and Kong Kangyi
BEIJING, Dec. 7 -- Recently, the 20th batch of Chinese peacekeeping contingent to Lebanon participated in Exercise Tiger 2021 during a series of drills organized by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and successfully completed the emergency evacuation of UN employees and their families in a contingency scenario.
The exercise is implemented by the Joint Operations Center, Security Operations Center, and other related training departments of the UNIFIL, aiming to verify the feasibility of evacuating the UN employees and local residents to the Chinese camp in case of large-scale conflict, and test the capability of the Chinese contingent to provide security. The exercise lasted nearly four hours, for which the Chinese peacekeeping troops dispatched 70 peacekeepers and 10 vehicles.
On the day of the drill, a 12-member Chinese rescue team rushed to the dangerous area five kilometers away from the camp after receiving the UN order. Nearly two hours later, more than 20 UN employees and their families within 20 kilometers of the Chinese camp were all escorted to the Chinese camp.
Inside the Chinese camp, psychological counseling, delicious food and children's entertainment were provided under security permission to ease the tension of the people. Medicines, bulletproof vests, helmets, gas masks, water and food were also available in the bunker for emergencies.
The UNIFIL side spoke highly of the Chinese peacekeepers’ performance after the drill. An official assigned to its Service Management Department said that this exercise was very helpful to UNIFIL staff and their families, and he was deeply impressed by the professional operations of the Chinese contingent.
