The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) will send 184 Cambodians to Lebanon next week to serve in the UN peacekeeping mission there, said Major General Phal Samorn, deputy director general of the National Center for Peacekeeping Forces, Mines and ERW Clearance.

The 184 “blue hats” of Platoon 639 will take over from Platoon 621, which is rotating home on December 24. Their replace-ments will leave a day earlier.

Samorn said the civil engineering group, which will be there for a year will focus on clearing landmines and constructing roads, bridges, shelters and defence posts, while also producing drinking water and providing medical treatment to Lebanese civilians.

Since 2006, a total of 2,165 Cambodians have been sent to Sudan, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Lebanon, Mali, Chad and Syria.