France To Deploy More Troops To Lebanon
Komfie Manalo - All Headline News Foreign Correspondent Paris, France (AHN) - French President Jacques Chirac is scheduled to make a televised address later on Thursday to announce the government's decision to deploy additional troops to Lebanon to augment the 400 soldiers already on the fields. Jean-Francois Cope, official spokesman of the government said the president will "present the decisions he has made concerning France's actions for peace in Lebanon and the Middle East." The decision came after the president met with Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and the foreign, defense, interior and European affairs ministers to assess the situation in Lebanon. Last week, France said it will sending an additional 200 troops in southern Lebanon as part of the expanded UN Interim Force in Lebanon, which is currently under French command. The country has already contributed 200 soldiers to UNIFIL. Resolution 1701, which was unanimously approved by the UN Security Council on August 11, mandates the increase of UNIFIL from its current 2,000 troops to 15,000. The UN was expecting France to contribute at least 4,000 troops to the expanded peacekeeping force but was dismayed when Paris sent only an additional 200 troops last week. On Thursday, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora appealed to Chirac to send more troops into his country. He told a French radio, "The Lebanese want France to have a strong presence, w |
