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 » Special Report | Video archive | E-mail us: Your stories | How to help civilians Italy to send 3,000 troops for U.N. peace force
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSROME, Italy (CNN) -- Italy's government Friday formally approved a plan to send up to 3,000 troops to Lebanon to take part in a U.N. peacekeeping mission there, the prime minister's office said. The troops have been ready to deploy for some time but the Italian government is waiting until they receive guidance from the United Nations, Italian defense officials said Friday. "We have been getting ready now for several days but we cannot move until we know what our rules of engagement will be," a Navy commander who spoke on condition of anonymity said. Italian defense officials said the first deployment would be the navy and that it could take up to four days to reach their target positions. Last week, the U.N. Security Council approved a peacekeeping force of up to 15,000 soldiers to serve as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah guerillas in southern Lebanon after 34 days of fighting. The troops will bolster a new incarnation of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, which was originally a French-led observer mission of about 2,000 troops on the Israeli-Lebanese frontier. French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie on Friday defended France's decision to send just 200 additional troops to reinforce the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon and reiterated that the force needs a clear mandate to operate effectively.(Full story) So far, Bangladesh has offered a potential contribution of two mechanized infantry battalions, about 1,300-1,700 troops. Indonesia has offered a mechanized battalion and a company of engineers, with Malaysia and Nepal each volunteering a mechanized battalion. Denmark, meanwhile, has offered to send two ships to patrol the Lebanese coast. Spain, Egypt, Belgium and Morocco are considered potential contributors as well. Israeli troops in southern Lebanon have begun handing over territory seized in the conflict to UNIFIL as Lebanese army troops move into the region for the first time in decades. 
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