Austria to Send 160 Troops to UNIFIL Mission
Austria will send 160 peacekeeping troops to Lebanon as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon starting in November, the defense ministry announced Monday.
The troops were due to help with supply logistics for the UNIFIL mission.
The decision must still be formally approved by the cabinet and parliament however.
Last month, Defense Minister Norbert Darabos already announced that Vienna was considering such a move following a U.N. request.
Austria already has a presence in the Middle East with just under 400 soldiers participating in the U.N. mission in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights since 1974.
The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), founded in 1978, currently counts some 12,000 troops from 35 countries and is tasked with overseeing a fragile peace along Lebanon's southern border with Israel.
29 August 2011, 13:20
10
Not a good idea for us, here in Lebanon. Austrian 'peace keepers' will be 100% pro Israeli, not neutral as they should be. Austria along with germany and other countries in Europe that had committed crimes against humanity to their jewish populations will bend over backwards to please israel in order to appease their guilt. We don t want them here.
29 August 2011, 15:49
00
mazen, you sound like the brave pro resistance heroes who for sixteen years refused to send the Lebanese Army to the South because as they claimed "it will protect Israel".
