The fighting between insurgents and South Sudan's government forces continued on July 10 (local time) in the country's capital city of Juba. As a group of Chinese peacekeepers tasked with protecting refugee camps was travelling in an armored convoy, they were hit by a mortar shell, leading to the deaths of two Chinese soldiers.

One of the victims, Yang Shupeng, left behind a wife when he embarked on the peacekeeping mission. After learning that her husband had been seriously injured, Yang's wife Zou Lina spoke to Wen Haidi, a political instructor traveling with Yang's group. Wen sent the widow a message at midnight on July 11, expressing his sorrow for the loss of a heroic soldier. She replied 15 minutes later, "You must be quite busy now over there. I will take care of my family. We are here waiting for him." 

Zou recalled that her husband was officially assigned to the peacekeeping mission before the start of the 2016 Chinese New Year. Yang spent the next five days simply enjoying his family and life at home. Then, Yang and his comrades-in-arms left for South Sudan.

Yang was in the habit of making telephone calls to his family every day or two. However, due to rising tensions in the region during the last two weeks of his life, Yang had become very busy with the mission. He could only call his family every three or four days. His wife sobbed, "When he left for South Sudan, he told us [his family] that we shouldn't worry because South Sudan is a safe country. He never said anything bad about his life in South Sudan, and just told us that everything was fine."

Yang joined the army 15 years ago. He was born in 1983 in eastern China's Shandong province. He took part in the flood relief efforts in Lankao county, Henan province in 2003, and also did earthquake relief work in Wenchuan county, Sichuan province. He left for South Sudan for a one-year peacekeeping mission in December 2015. He was once awarded a second-class merit.