KUALA LUMPUR: Wisma Putra is ready to assist the Defence Ministry to ensure the safety of Malaysian peacekeepers (Malbatt 850-11) in south Lebanon.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the safety and operations of Malaysian peacekeepers fall under the supervision of the Defence Ministry (Mindef).
He said Mindef would make decisions in line with the United Nations directives on peacekeeping forces, as Malbatt 850-12 was currently serving under a UN mandate.
"All matters concerning the Malaysian peacekeepers are being overseen by Mindef. The UN already has its evacuation plan in place, and the Malaysian peacekeeping force will remain under the protection and supervision of the UN alongside peacekeepers from other countries," he told the New Straits Times.
He said this in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call on United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres to move peacekeepers deployed in south Lebanon out of "harm's way", saying Hizbollah was using them as "human shields".
This comes a day after the UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon repeated its refusal to withdraw from the border area.
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), which involves about 9,500 troops of around 50 nationalities, is tasked with monitoring a ceasefire that ended a 33-day war between Israel and Hizbollah in 2006.
Its role was bolstered by UN Security Council Resolution 1701 of that year, which stipulated that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should be deployed in south Lebanon.
Mohamad added that Wisma Putra would be involved together with Mindef in all diplomatic efforts related to the issue.