PHNOM PENH: Cambodia has sent 14 armored vehicles and five containers of equipment to supply its Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Squadron on a UN peacekeeping mission in Mali.

The armored vehicles and supplies arrived at the Sihanoukville International Port on June 6 and will be shipped on June 8. Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ouch Borith, confirmed that the shipment would arrive in Mali in mid-August and was meant to build up the current supplies and equipment to aid the Squadron in its peacekeeping mission.

The Vice Chairman of the National Committee and Director General of the National Peacekeeping Center, Gen. Sem Sovanny, said that of the 14 armored vehicles, four were ambulances and ten were for transporting troops on missions. He confirmed that the need for armored vehicles on the Mali mission was a result of rebels ambushing caravans and planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and mines on the road.

He emphasized that the Cambodian forces numbered more than 300 and were divided into two subdivisions: the Unexploded Ordnance Squadron and the Airport Engineering Force. Since 2006, Cambodia has sent more than 8,000 Blue Helmet soldiers on peacekeeping missions in nine countries: Sudan, South Sudan, Chad, the Central African Republic, Lebanon, Cyprus, Syria, Mali and Yemen.