(AFP) - Turkey will dispatch a frigate to Lebanon on Friday and deploy a unit of engineers in the south of the country next week as part of its contribution to the enlarged UN peacekeeping operation there, the NTV news channel reported.
Military officials were not immediately available to comment while the foreign ministry said it could not confirm the report.
NTV said Thursday that the frigate would leave a naval base near Turkey's popular southwestern resort of Marmaris to serve in an international naval task force led by Germany and charged with preventing arms smuggling to Hezbollah militias.
An engineering corp of 260 soldiers, which will help with the rebuilding of the war-torn country, will leave Ankara by air "most probably" on Tuesday, the report said.
The force, which will include only a small number of armed troops for security reasons, will be deployed 15 kilometers (about nine miles) from the southern port city of Tyre, it added.
Overriding widespread opposition and protests, the Turkish parliament approved a government motion on September 5 to contribute troops to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Under the motion, the government is authorized to send a naval force to patrol the eastern Mediterranean, deploy land troops for non-combat missions, help train the Lebanese army and support allied countries in naval and air transport.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has said the number of soldiers is not likely to exceed 1,000, reports Trend.
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