Backgrounder: Chinese blue helmets help guard Mali's peace

Terrorist attacks against the UN peacekeepers in Mali, which left one Chinese blue helmet died, have outraged UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and led to strong condemnation from China.

Since its inception in 2013, the UN mission in Mali has lost more than 60 lives, making it the UN's deadliest active mission.

In 2013, China for the first time sent a peacekeeping security division to Mali, which has been plunged into chaos and violence due to a military coup and armed attacks in 2012.

Until now, China has deployed four contingents to the West African country as part of a UN peacekeeping mission, consistently contributing to the country's peace process.

The third contingent of 395 peacekeepers was replaced by the fourth contingent in May this year.

At the end of the third contingent's mission, a statement from the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) spoke highly of China's role in preserving peace and stability in the region.

During the second half of 2015, Chinese peacekeepers in Mali had tackled over 90 incidents including bomb threats and terrorist attacks.

Chinese blue helmets have also helped one local community build a football court.

At present, more than 2,400 Chinese peacekeepers are operating in seven African task areas including Mali, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the statistics released by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

China is the largest contributor of peacekeeping troops among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. Endi