A majority of Germans are opposed to sending troops to join the
United Nations force to keep peace in southern Lebanon, according
to a German survey released on Friday.
The poll, conducted by Forschungsgruppe Wahlen for the public TV
channel ZDF, showed that 58 percent of Germans are against sending
troops to the border between Lebanon and Israel.
About 25 percent of those surveyed said that Germany could join
the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the region only if German soldiers
would not take part in any military action involving Israelis.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that Germany
would not provide ground troops to a United Nations peacekeeping
force in southern Lebanon.
However, speaking to reporters after meeting parliamentary
leaders, Merkel said that her country may provide naval security as
part of its effort to keep peace in the region. German Defense
Minister Franz-Josef Jung made a similar statement.
During a visit to a transport helicopter regiment in the town of
Rheine, Jung said that his country's contribution to an
international peacekeeping contingent would likely be naval forces
and not land-based soldiers.
The defense minister said Germany could participate in a
peacekeeping force by sending sailors to help secure the border
between Syria and Lebanon, said a report by the German radio
Deutsche Welle.
Germany now has around 8,000 soldiers participating in
peacekeeping operations around the globe, including Afghanistan and
Congo.
(Xinhua News Agency August 19, 2006)
