Turkey to withdraw troops from UN force in Lebanon
Iran Press TV
Sun Aug 11, 2013 1:52PM GMT
Turkish authorities have stated that Ankara plans to withdraw some of its troops from the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, stating that the measure is unrelated to the recent kidnapping of two Turkish pilots in the Arab country.
'An approximately 250-person engineering construction force will not be actively involved in UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) in the coming period,' a Turkish diplomatic source told AFP on the condition of anonymity on Saturday.
The source added that the pull-out decision was made in conjunction with UNIFIL's own needs.
'The mandate of our force was extended in early July. At that time, it was also decided that there would be some changes in the configuration of our force, but the decision on this was entirely made in line with UNIFIL's own needs and it has nothing to do with the latest incident,' the Turkish source said.
The Turkish diplomatic source went on to say that Turkey will maintain its presence in the UNIFIL maritime task force.
'Our units at the maritime task force whose numbers periodically vary between 100 and 300 will remain in charge,' the source noted.
Meanwhile, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said that Turkey's decision to pull out troops from the UN peacekeeping force was made prior to the abduction of two Turkish Airlines pilots in Beirut on August 9.
'On the 6th of August, we have been informed by the department of peacekeeping operations that the Turkish government decided to withdraw the Turkish engineering construction company,' Tenenti pointed out.
The UNIFIL was created by the United Nations on March 19, 1978 to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon following Israel's initial invasion of the country that year.
The first UNIFIL troops were deployed in the southern Lebanon on March 23, 1978.
UNIFIL mission was extended and enlarged after Israel's war on Lebanon in 2006.
UNIFIL's mandate is renewed by the UN Security Council annually. Current mandate expires on 31 August 2013.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon currently has a 13,000-strong force sourced from several countries.
MP/PR
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
