China is looking to live up to its word after it sent 120 peacekeepers on Sunday to South Sudan, the youngest nation globally which has been faced with war since 2013.

The East African region, which gained independence back in 2011, has been a war zone for three years now. China had earlier said that they would send out 700 peacekeepers to help the nation regain its civility.

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The third batch of troop deployed last Sunday aims to shield humanitarian workers and U.N staff, stand alert in case of any impending danger, and more importantly, safeguard Sudan's citizens.

South Sudan already has more than 12,000 peacekeepers. However, they are scrutinized for failing to protect civilians, the Fox News reported.

The incident comes at a time when The World Food Program (WFP) issued out a situation report saying that the region is facing very harsh food shortages during its harvest season.

It further noted that 2017 is going to be a challenging year for the country, estimating that around "4.6 million people are likely to be severely food insecure in the first quarter of the year" because of poor harvests and hyperinflation.

Meanwhile, a tragedy struck China after seven UN peacekeepers fell victims of the ongoing war in Sudan's capital Juba in July. While on duty, a rocket-propelled grenade fell on their car, killing two and leaving five other peacekeepers seriously wounded.

 The Wall Street Journal identified the dead victims as Li Lei and Yang Shupeng, a non-commissioned officer, in a past report. A statement issued out by China's Ministry of Defense said that in the attack, one infantryman died on the scene, while the other was later succumbed due to his injuries.

Tagschina, South Sudan, UN peacekeeping missions, WFP