German Ships Arrive Off Lebanese Coast
Joseph S. Mayton - All Headline News Middle East Correspondent Beirut, Lebanon (AHN) - German ships have arrived off the Lebanese coast to help enforce the United Nations-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended a monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah on August 14. Germany is set to take charge of the multinational naval force off Lebanon's coast. The number one task of the naval mission is to stem the tide of arms shipments from reaching the Shiite group. German ships are currently operating in the area with Italian forces. "The Italian force [was] an interim force, which [was] aimed largely at motivating Israeli to lift the embargo," Ulrich Reineke, commanding officer of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "After a good hand over in the area, which will take a couple of days, we will be replacing most of the Italian ships," Reineke added. Italy has offered to commit the largest contingent of troops to the U.N. peacekeeping mission on the ground in southern Lebanon. The German commander said that other nations, who have offered troops to Lebanon, will help with the naval mission. "We already have offers from other troop contributing nations like Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, which will augment our force," Reineke said. The German mission is set to last at least one year.
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