http://www.telegraphindia.com/1061211/asp/nation/story_7124143.asp
Fresh Delhi force for Lebanon SUJAN DUTTA New Delhi, Dec. 10: A new contingent of Indian soldiers will next week replace the troops caught on the "thin Blue Line" --- the border between Israel and Lebanon --- in the middle of Tel Aviv's war against the Hizbollah. Soldiers of the 4 Sikh Battalion, who kept vigil for the UN during the war in July, braved Israeli air and land assaults and the Hizbollah's Katyusha rockets. They will be rotated and replaced by the 15 Punjab Regiment. With the rotation, India continues to demonstrate a commitment to UN duties in one of the most volatile regions of the world. The 121-km Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon was one of the deadliest places in the world this year. At the height of the war in July, India was mulling if it should withdraw its troops because of the high risk they run in an alien war. But the army's insistence that "our boys are brave enough" --- largely because of the dollars they earn on UN missions --- and diplomatic considerations of maintaining a sizeable presence in UN duties combined to convince New Delhi to do otherwise. The 673 troops of the 4 Sikh Battalion were commended by UN secretary general Kofi Annan for courage under fire and for keeping the vigil despite running out of food and rations in the wake of the Israeli offensive. The battalion reported almost daily on the war, much to Israel's consternation, and the UN and the Indian Army have some of the most graphic accounts of the battle because of them. The 4 Sikh Battalion was serving under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil). About 800 soldiers of the 15 Punjab Regiment have been deployed under Unifil with a UN Chapter VI (peace keeping) mandate. "The UN has laid down the Rules of Engagement that those will be binding on our soldiers," deputy chief of army staff Lt General Susheel Gupta said during the send-off to the troops. The main task of the unit will be to observe and report ceasefire violations. They are not required to intervene. India had also told the UN department of peacekeeping operations that it was not to be involved in a mandate that calls for the disarming of the Hizbollah, as demanded by Israel. About 8,000 Indian Army personnel are currently serving on UN peacekeeping and peace enforcement missions. +++ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
