SE Asian nations ready to send troops to Lebanon

Jakarta, Aug 10: Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei are ready to send troops to Lebanon if called upon to take part in a UN peacekeeping mission, the military chiefs of the three countries today said.

The heads of the armed forces of the mainly Muslim Southeast Asian neighbours met to discuss coordination for a possible deployment of troops in the West Asia.

''We shared views on what to do should the three countries be given a mission to keep peace under a UN mandate. We see no let-up in the situation in West Asia,'' Indonesian military chief Air Marshal Djoko Suyanto told a news conference.

The meeting was a follow up to an emergency summit of the Organisation of Islamic Conference in Malaysia this month during which leaders called for the creation of a Muslim peacekeeping force in Lebanon under UN control.

World powers are split on a UN resolution on Lebanon. France and the United States disagree on when a foreign force, possibly led by France, should move in and when Israeli forces fighting the militant Muslim group Hizbollah should withdraw.

Lebanon wants a swift Israeli withdrawal, but Israel says it will fight on until foreign troops and the Lebanese army move in.

The war has cost the lives of at least 1,011 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 116 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

REUTERS

Related Stories