Nearly 10,000 Lebanese treated by S. Korean peacekeepers: JCS

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Thursday its peacekeeping unit in
Lebanon has treated nearly 10,000 local patients free of charge as part of its
community relations activities.
About 360 South Korean troops have been deployed since July 2007 in Lebanon's
southern city of Tyre to join U.N. peacekeeping forces monitoring violence along
the border with Israel.
The Dongmyeong unit performs patrol missions and participates in reconstruction
efforts, including medical services provided by a small team of military doctors
and nurses.
"The number of patients addressed over the last 18 months reached 9,957 as of
Tuesday," the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said in a statement, expecting the
figure to top 10,000 over the weekend.
"Medical services are concentrated in particular cities in Lebanon, making it
relatively hard for Tyre residents to receive it," Hong Joong-rak, one of the
five medical officers, was quoted as saying.
The South Korean Zaytun unit, deployed to Iraq from 2004-2008, treated some
88,000 people, according to Seoul's defense ministry.
Conflicts have flared along the Israel-Lebanon border since the 1970s, when
Palestinian commandos moved into Lebanon and conducted operations, prompting
reprisals.
About 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis were killed a few years ago in a month-long
conflict between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, leaving 1 million
Lebanese homeless and the country riven.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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