BEIRUT - The Italian navy Sunday handed over to German command the UN naval force tasked with patrolling Lebanon’s coastline to prevent arms smuggling following Israel’s war with Shiite movement Hezbollah. Italy’s Admiral Giuseppe De Giorgi passed command of the beefed-up force to Germany’s Admiral Andreas Krause during a ceremony aboard Italy’s flagship Garibaldi aircraft carrier in Beirut harbour.The ceremony was also attended by United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) commander Major General Alain Pellegrini who hailed the Italians’ mission — which helped end a crippling Israeli blockade of Lebanon — as “a real success”.
Germany has agreed to send up to 2,400 military personnel to Lebanon in the countryÂ’s first mission in the Middle East since World War II. Although Germany has sent a maritime fleet to Lebanon, having UN troops on the ground is a more sensitive issue because of the potential of conflict with Israeli troops.