BERLIN, Sep 13 (Reuters) The German government plans to send a force of up to 2,400 naval and air force personnel to Lebanon as part of a UN peace-keeping force, leading Social Democrat (SPD) Peter Struck said today.
The German contingent will help enforce a truce between Israel and Hizbollah after the war that killed nearly 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mainly soldiers.
The question of dispatching German troops to the West Asia some 60 years after the Nazis killed 6 million Jews has divided a country which only recently shed its post-war reluctance to participate in foreign combat missions.
Partly because of concerns that German soldiers might be drawn into fighting with Israeli forces, the government has declined to send ground troops. Instead, the German deployment will focus on patrolling the Lebanese coast to prevent weapons from being smuggled to Hizbollah.
Struck, speaking in Berlin as the government cabinet met to approve the mission, said the German mandate foresaw the troops staying in West Asia until August 2007.
The cabinet is expected to approve the mission later today. It must then be approved by the Bundestag lower house of parliament in a vote which is likely to take place at the end of next week.
The United Nations has approved an expanded force of up to 15,000 for south Lebanon. The German contribution is the second largest for the so-called UNIFIL II force after Italy, which is sending 3,000 troops. France has pledged a total of 2,000.
REUTERS PB BST1552
The German contingent will help enforce a truce between Israel and Hizbollah after the war that killed nearly 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mainly soldiers.
The question of dispatching German troops to the West Asia some 60 years after the Nazis killed 6 million Jews has divided a country which only recently shed its post-war reluctance to participate in foreign combat missions.
Partly because of concerns that German soldiers might be drawn into fighting with Israeli forces, the government has declined to send ground troops. Instead, the German deployment will focus on patrolling the Lebanese coast to prevent weapons from being smuggled to Hizbollah.
Struck, speaking in Berlin as the government cabinet met to approve the mission, said the German mandate foresaw the troops staying in West Asia until August 2007.
The cabinet is expected to approve the mission later today. It must then be approved by the Bundestag lower house of parliament in a vote which is likely to take place at the end of next week.
The United Nations has approved an expanded force of up to 15,000 for south Lebanon. The German contribution is the second largest for the so-called UNIFIL II force after Italy, which is sending 3,000 troops. France has pledged a total of 2,000.
REUTERS PB BST1552
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