Malaysia gets green light for Lebanon peacekeepers

KUALA LUMPUR, Sep 20 (Reuters) The United Nations has given Malaysia the go-ahead to send peacekeeping troops to Lebanon despite initial objections from Israel, Malaysian state news agency Bernama said today.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in talks in New York yesterday that Malaysia should send 360 peacekeepers, Bernama said.

Malaysia had offered to send 1,000 troops as peacekeepers.

''We have stated since the beginning that we are ready to send 1,000 peacekeepers under the UN banner. So, we'll have to wait. If there is a request for more troops, then we will deploy them,'' it quoted Abdullah as saying in New York.

Israeli forces have been gradually pulling out from territory they captured in southern Lebanon during a month-long war with the Hizbollah guerrilla group that ended on August 14.

As Israeli troops withdraw, thousands of UN peacekeepers have moved in.

Israel had initially objected to the deployment of peacekeepers from nations that did not have diplomatic ties with the Jewish state, but it later relaxed that stance.

Mainly Muslim Malaysia has no diplomatic relations with Israel and strongly condemned its attacks on Lebanon. Malaysia is also current chair of the world's largest Islamic grouping, the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

Indonesia, another Muslim nation without diplomatic ties with Israel, has also received UN blessing to send peacekeepers to Lebanon.

REUTERS PDM DS1140