A German Defense Ministry spokesman told Reuters that a German warship operating within the United Nations mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, shot down an unmanned flying object off the coast of Lebanon on Thursday.
German forces participate in the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force, which deployed at the request of the Lebanese Government in October 2006 to assist the Lebanese Navy in securing territorial waters and to help prevent the entry of unauthorized weapons or related materials into Lebanon by sea. This naval deployment is the first of its kind for a United Nations peacekeeping mission.
The number of German forces is 112 out of 10,058 peacekeeping soldiers distributed among 50 countries.
This comes as Germany condemned, last Monday, the Israeli attacks targeting the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, stressing that attacking the soldiers of the United Nations peacekeeping force is “absolutely unacceptable,” and calling on Israel for a “comprehensive clarification.”
German Chancellor Olaf Schulz said on Thursday that Germany will continue to help Israel defend itself by supplying it with weapons, adding that Israel must abide by international law and indicating that the two-state solution is the ultimate goal.
“For me, it is clear that supporting Israel also means that we always guarantee Israel’s defense capacity, for example by supplying military equipment or weapons,” Schulz added on the sidelines of the European Union leaders’ summit.
Source: Reuters + RT
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