Germany plans to extend Bundeswehr mandate for three missions abroad
Germany's new government plans to extend the armed forces' involvement in international missions in Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina and off Lebanon, as agreed in a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
The Cabinet of Chancellor Friedrich Merz approved the extension of mandates for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the eastern Mediterranean as well as for the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) and the EU mission EUFOR Althea in the Balkans.
"By continuing its participation in these missions, the German government is emphasizing its ongoing commitment to peace and stability," said government spokesman Stefan Kornelius.
Before the extensions can take effect, the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, has to approve them.
Soldiers of the Bundeswehr, as the German armed forces are called, have been employed as part of KFOR for 26 years, making it the longest foreign deployment.
Despite the Kosovo War having ended in 1999, the international troops continue to be necessary to stabilize the security situation, said government spokesman Kornelius.
Germany will continue to deploy a maximum of 400 troops to Kosovo, he said.
Meanwhile, up to 50 soldiers will continue to be deployed as part of EUFOR Althea, an EU-led mission intended to ensure compliance with the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the Bosnian war in 1995.
Up to 300 German soldiers will continue to support UNIFIL, which has been monitoring the border area between Israel and Lebanon since 1978.
A Bundeswehr frigate has been deployed to the Mediterranean to prevent the smuggling of weapons to Lebanon's pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia.
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