Malaysia To Send Final Peacekeeping Team To Lebanon Next Year

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will send one more team to Lebanon next year before concluding its participation in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission in the country at the end of 2026.  

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the decision was made following the United Nations (UN) Security Council’s approval in the last week of August to extend UNIFIL’s mandate for another year.  

“This means we will send one team next year and after that Malaysia will no longer have any presence in UNIFIL in Lebanon.  

“We will look at the process for their redeployment and so on after this,” he said at a press conference after a working visit to the Army Western Field Command Headquarters at Kem Perdana Sungai Besi here today.  

On Aug 29, the UN Security Council unanimously extended UNIFIL’s mandate for its final 16 months, with the mission set to end on Dec 31, 2026.

 The resolution aims to ensure an orderly and safe downsizing and withdrawal process for UN forces in Lebanon.  

UNIFIL has been stationed since 1978 to monitor the ceasefire along the Lebanon-Israel border and to support the Lebanese Armed Forces in the country’s south.  

Malaysia began participating in the UNIFIL mission in 2006 to assist peacekeeping forces from other UN member states.  

Since then, the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) have consistently deployed peacekeeping contingents to Lebanon, including medical personnel and engineers, as part of the nation’s commitment to the UN’s  peacekeeping efforts.  

Meanwhile, Mohamed Khaled said the MAF stands ready for deployment to Afghanistan to provide aid to victims of the recent earthquake there.  

He said the move would depend on decisions made following the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) meeting today.  

“We are prepared for any decision and directive involving the MAF.  

“The assistance given will depend on the suitability of the situation, as in Bangladesh and Türkiye previously... we need to see whether there is a need to set up a field hospital or deploy a medical team,” he said.  

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan around midnight on Aug 31, followed by several aftershocks.

On Thursday, the Ariana News portal reported that the death toll from the earthquake in Afghanistan had exceeded 2,200 people, with more than 3,600 injured.

-- BERNAMA