• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

French Troops Arrive In Lebanon

August 25, 2006 -- The first French military reinforcements arrived in Lebanon today ahead of European Union talks on boosting the United Nations peacekeeping force there.

Following a pledge on August 24 by President Jacques Chirac to increase France's contribution to the force to 2,000 troops, some 170 French soldiers arrived in the southern Lebanese port of Naqura.

"They are engineering troops, and so that means the capability I am bringing with me is engineering capability. You've seen bulldozers landing, they have trucks, and so they have, obviously, rebuilding capability. They will be able to rebuild infrastructure if they are required for [this]," French Navy Admiral Xavier Magne told reporters there after the specialist forces made their landing aboard an amphibious assault craft.

EU foreign ministers are due to meet in Brussels at 3 p.m. to discuss further contributions to the UN force, which is supposed to total 15,000 soldiers.

They'll be joined at the Brussels talks by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Belgium today said it would make a major contribution to the force. Italy has already pledged up to 3,000 troops.

(compiled from agency reports)

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org