Germany plans 2,400 naval troops to patrol Lebanon coast

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Wednesday September 13, 2006

Berlin- German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet Wednesday approved sending up to 2,400 navy troops to patrol Lebanon's coast as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force for the country, officials said. Sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa the figure of 2,400 was the maximum possible number of troops and that a smaller number might actually be deployed.

The exact number of German ships being being sent to the region has still not been announced.

Merkel, Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier were due to hold a news briefing later Wednesday.

A final green light for the first German troop deployment in the Middle East since World War II is expected to be given by parliament next week, probably on September 20.

German naval vessels would then be able to arrive off the Lebanese coast by early October given that takes about 10 days for ships to travel from the North Sea to the eastern Mediterranean.

Sources said Germany would probably take command of an international naval force including ships from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands.

The naval task force would be equipped with a robust mandate that would allow it to search a suspect vessel for weapons.

But Germany's deputy chancellor, Franz Muentefering, stressed the naval force soldiers could not be defined as "combat troops."

Germany is already providing a small number of border police and customs officials to be stationed at Beirut International Airport to supervise incoming cargo.

The UN is deploying a 15,000-member peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon under a ceasefire agreement which last month ended fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants based in Lebanon.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur