Turkish soldiers arrive in Beirut to join peacekeeping force
By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
October 20, 2006 Friday 4:02 PM GMT
Turkish soldiers arrived Friday in Beirut to join the U.N.
peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, making Turkey the first Muslim
country to contribute ground troops since the mission was expanded
after last summer’s war.
Two military ships docked at 9 a.m. in Beirut’s harbor. Turkish
officials said they carried some 95 soldiers and civilian engineers,
as well as 46 trucks, four armored personnel carriers and several
bulldozers and other machinery.
More soldiers were scheduled to arrive later in the day, bringing the
number of Turkish soldiers and civilian engineers in Lebanon to 261.
The troops were expected to deploy near the southern port city of Tyre
to help rebuild bridges and roads damaged in the summer’s 34-day war
between Hezbollah and Israel.
The conflict ended Aug. 14 after a U.N.-brokered cease-fire resolution
that calls for an expanded international peacekeeping force to create
a weapons-free zone in the south.
A Turkish government spokesman said earlier this month that the total
number of Turkish personnel in Lebanon would ultimately reach 681,
including sailors and engineers. A vanguard of seven Turkish military
officers arrived in Beirut earlier this week, and a Turkish frigate
is already helping patrol Lebanese waters.
Turkey is NATO’s only predominantly Muslim member, and the country
has close ties to both Israel and Arab states. Its contribution to the
peacekeeping force was met with opposition in the Turkish parliament,
where some lawmakers feared Turkish troops would be drawn into fighting
against fellow Muslims to protect Israel.
Armenians in Lebanon also protested Turkish participation in the
peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, because they blame Turkey’s
Ottoman rulers for the mass killing of Armenians in the early 20th
century.
Many of Lebanon’s Armenian residents fled Turkey.
Turkish peacekeeping troops have served in Bosnia and Kosovo and have
led operations in Somalia and Afghanistan.