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.
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