Last batch of Indonesian soldiers leave for Lebanon

Jakarta, Nov 25: A last batch of 236 Indonesian soldiers left for Lebanon today as part of a bigger contingent of more than 800 Indonesian soldiers in a United Nations peacekeeping mission, a military spokesman said.

An advance team left earlier this month while the main body of Indonesian troops has left in three batches over the past few days, Rear Admiral Mohammad Sunarto said.

''The last team from the 850 troops departed today in a charter plane provided by the United Nations,'' Sunarto said. ''So, the team is complete now.'' Israel had initially objected to peacekeepers coming from nations not recognising the Jewish state, but later relaxed that stance.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has no diplomatic ties with Israel.

The UN force is being deployed in the south of Lebanon after a truce halted Israel's 34-day war with militant Islamic group Hezbollah on August 14.

Reuters