Turkey extends military mission in Lebanon

Turkey's parliament approved a government request Tuesday to extend for one year the Turkish military mission with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). It was the fifth time that parliament extended the mission since it was first approved in September 2006. Turkey was the first Muslim country to contribute troops to UNIFIL after the force, first created in 1978, was enhanced in 2006 following Israel's devastating 34-day war on Hezbollah in Lebanon, in which some 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, died. Turkey has contributed about 1,000 military personnel to the force as well as several vessels to its naval component, which aims to prevent Hezbollah from receiving weapons by sea.