Fresh Malaysian Peacekeepers Arrive In Lebanon

From Mohd Faizal Hassan BEIRUT, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- A fresh group of Malaysian peacekeepers arrived in Lebanon early Thursday to take over from the team that has been serving for the past year under an arrangement that began in 2009. The 215 officers and men led by Col Nazim Mohd Alim are the first batch of the Malaysian Battalion (MALBATT) 850-4 that will take over from MALBATT 850-3 due to return to Malaysia in batches. These peacekeepers arrived at the Ma'rakah Camp in Tyre, about 80km from here and about 30km from the Israeli border, at 3am (8am in Malaysia) Thursday, welcomed by a temperature of 37 degrees Celcius. The three other batches of MALBATT 850-4 are scheduled to arrive on Sept 14, 20 and 26. MALBATT 850-4 comprises 850 officers and men. Also in the team are two officers and 28 men of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. These soldiers will carry on the excellent role played by Malaysian peacekeepers under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) that had begun in 2009. The first batch of 215 peacekeepers had flown for almost 10 hours from the Subang airbase to the Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport here and taken a two-hour bus ride to the camp. Accompanying them were Malaysian Deputy Defence Minister Mohd Johari Baharum, Army Chief of Staff of Operations and Training Maj Gen Mohd Ramli Jaafar and senior officers of the Defence Ministry. Mohd Johari, when approached by Bernama and RTM (Malaysian public broadcaster) journalists, said the peacekeeping mission reflected the continuing recognition and trust of the international community in the credibility, integrity and professionalism of the Malaysian Armed Forces. Nazim said he hoped that his team, which was well-equipped and trained, would be able to discharge its duties as stipulated under the United Nations charter with full discipline. -- BERNAMA