More than 200 members of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces are bound for Lebanon at the request of the United Nations.

Engineering Unit 603 members, who received a send-off yesterday at the Cambodian Military Airport, will take part in a peacekeeping mission in the Middle East nation.

Sem Sovanny, director-general of the National Centre for Peacekeeping Forces, Mine and Explosive Remnants of War Clearance, said 218 soldiers from Engineering Unit 603 – which deals with construction and mine clearance – were headed for Lebanon for the second time. He said the unit would replace Engineering Unit 513, which will return home today after a one-year mission.

“We have already trained these soldiers for more than 10 months by testing their ability, quality and professional skill properly,” Sem Sovanny said.

Cambodia’s UN resident co-ordinator, Douglas Broderick, told the departing peacekeepers they would join the ranks of Cambodians who had served in Lebanon in construction, de-mining, water and humanitarian roles.

“They have built a strong legacy, which I am confident you will only further enhance,” Broderick said.