Malaysia sends advance batch for peacekeeping mission in Lebanon

- Malaysia on Tuesday dispatched its advance batch of troops to serve as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

One hundred soldiers comprising elite units of the army, navy and air force left the Kuala Lumpur International Airport for Beirut aboard a Malaysia Airlines aircraft Tuesday morning.

The United Nations had officially approved last October the deployment of 360 Malaysian troops as part of the peacekeeping force in Lebanon, though Malaysia had initially offered to send 1, 000 soldiers.

Deputy Defense Minister Zainal Abidin Zin Tuesday told reporters Malaysian soldiers would be based at UNIFIL's headquarters in Naqoura where five Malaysian armed forces officers were already in service.

The rest 260 soldiers will join the advance team on Jan. 15, Zainal said after speaking to the troops earlier in the Royal Malaysia Air Force (RMAF) base in Subang near here.

Zainal Abidin said the total of 365 soldiers for UNIFIL ( including the five officers already serving there) would serve for a tentative term of six months before replaced by a second group for a further six months, according to reports of the national news agency Bernama.

Meanwhile, Deputy commander of the mission Kol Fadzil Tajuddin, who heads the first batch, said the contingent had undergone two months of special preparatory training in Malaysia, which included lessons on the Arabic and English languages.

Source: Xinhua