Malaysia to send peacekeepers to Lebanon http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=Lebanonconflict&slug=Malaysia+to+send+peacekeepers+to+Lebanon&id=93512&callid=1
Wednesday, September 20, 2006 (Kuala Lumpur):
Malaysia will send 360 peacekeepers to Lebanon, officials said on Wednesday,after the United Nations approved the deployment.
Some 200 Malaysian personnel will perform administrative duties at the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
The remaining 160 will be part of a peacekeeping and quick reaction force, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters.
Najib said the personnel would likely depart soon, and indicated that Malaysia was prepared to commit troops for an extended period.
"From our (peacekeeping) experience in Somalia and Bosnia, it's been quite long--sometimes two to three years," Najib said, when asked how long the peacekeepers would serve.
Malaysia had previously offered to send as many as 1,000 troops to Lebanon, and Najib noted that the country remains ready to dispatch more peacekeepers if asked to.
The deployment comes despite earlier objections by Israel to involvement by countries that have no diplomatic ties with the Jewish state, including Malaysia and Indonesia. (AP)