The German government has agreed "in principle" to send troops
to join an expanded UN peacekeeping force to be deployed in south
Lebanon, government sources said.
But the size of the troops and how they will participate in the
peacekeeping mission are still under discussion, the sources were
quoted by the German news agency DPA as saying.
As there is a widespread concern among German politicians in
both Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic camp (CDU/CSU)
and her Social Democrat (SPD) partner party that the deployment of
German combat forces along the Lebanese-Israeli border might cause
confrontations between German troops and Israeli forces, a dominant
view is for Germany to send its navy to patrol the coast off
Lebanon and Israel.
Another option is to send German police to the Syrian-Lebanese
border to provide logistical support for the international
peacekeeping force in the Middle East.
Government spokesman Thomas Steg said on Monday that the cabinet
could decide on Germany's role in the UN peacekeeping force next
week.
Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said on Tuesday that Germany
will make concrete proposals on its contribution to the
international force for Lebanon at a UN meeting in New York on
Thursday.
Under the German political system, any participation of German
troops in an international peacekeeping force must be approved by
parliament.
UN Security Council Resolution 1701 passed on Friday authorizes
a reinforcement of the current 2,000-strong UN peacekeeping force
in Lebanon by another 13,000 as Israeli troops withdraw from
southern Lebanon following the recent fighting with Lebanon's
Hezbollah.
(Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2006 )
