Riot police to head for Liberia on peacekeeping mission

China's first group of riot police assigned to Africa as peacekeepers was set to depart from Beijing on Monday morning after months of training.

An advance team of 15 will arrive first in the Republic of Liberia, followed by another 125 police officers on Oct 21. The mission will last eight months.

The unit is being deployed to Liberia to maintain public security, as well as to protect United Nations staff and facilities.