PHNOM PENH, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The bodies of four Cambodian United Nations (UN) peacekeepers killed in a convoy ambush in the Central African Republic (CAR) earlier this month were airlifted to Cambodia on Sunday night.
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, along with his cabinet members, paid his last respects to the ill-fated peacekeepers at Phnom Penh International Airport before allowing the bodies to be transported to their respective hometowns for funerals.
Hun Sen has said that despite the peacekeepers' deaths, the Southeast Asian country would step up its efforts to continue sending troops to war-torn countries under the UN umbrella.
The four peacekeepers were killed by a rebel group on May 8 during a convoy attack near Bangassou, about 474 km east of Bangui, capital of CAR.
Cambodia firstly dispatched troops abroad in April 2006. Since then, the county has sent a total of 4,459 personnel to join UN peacekeeping missions in eight countries.
