Qatar to send 200-300 troops to UN Lebanon force

DOHA, Sep 4 (Reuters) The Gulf state of Qatar today became the first Arab country to commit troops to a U N peacekeeping force in Lebanon with an offer of 200-300 troops.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad al-Thani did not say when the troops would go to Lebanon, where they would join an expanded U N force set up to keep the peace between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas in south Lebanon.

''We have decided that Qatar will participate in UNIFIL by sending 200-300 military personnel and we believe UNIFIL must have specific duties on the ground,'' Sheikh Hamad told reporters during a visit to Doha by U N Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Qatar, a political maverick in the conservative Gulf Arab region, maintains low-level ties with Israel. It is also a key U S ally and hosts a major U S military base.

Italian troops will make up the largest single contingent of the force known as UNIFIL II, to deploy in the south after a truce halted Israel's 34-day war with Hizbollah on Aug 14.

REUTERS KR BS1404