Malaysian troops arrive for UN duty in Lebanon

Beirut, Jan 2: One hundred Malaysian soldiers today arrived in Lebanon to join a UN peacekeeping force monitoring a truce between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in south Lebanon.

They are the first Malaysians to join the UN force, which was boosted under the terms of a UN Security Council resolution that ended Israel's 34-day war with Hezbollah in mid-August.

A military spokesman in Malaysia said a final contingent of 260 soldiers from the mainly Muslim country would follow on January 15.

Israel had initially objected to peacekeepers from countries that do not recognise the Jewish state, but later relaxed that stance.

Both Malaysia and neighbouring Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, have now sent troops to Lebanon, although neither has diplomatic ties with Israel.

UN resolution 1701 authorised an increase in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) by more than 13,000 troops from its previous level of 2,000. There are now more than 11,000 UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon, a spokesman said.

Malaysia's Defence Minister Najib Razak has said his country is ready to increase the number of troops in Lebanon if the United Nations extends the Malaysian mandate beyond six months.

The Malaysian soldiers will be based in the town of Marjayoun near the Syrian border, he said.

Reuters