Report: Italy Sends Warships Toward Lebanon Coast
Two Italian warships are sailing closer toward offshore Lebanon to protect Italy's soldiers participating in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the South, An Italian news report said.
Italy currently has some 1,100 soldiers in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
The ANSA news agency reported that a frigate and a torpedo destroyer boat left Italy's southeastern coast on Wednesday and were headed to offshore Lebanon to beef up protection of the soldiers in case of stepped-up conflict in Syria.
Calls to the defense ministry by the Associated Press to confirm the report were not immediately answered.
Most EU nations, including Italy, stand opposed to the military options favored by Washington and Paris as reprisal for alleged chemical weapons attacks blamed on President Bashar Assad that left hundreds dead last month.
Source: Associated Press, Naharnet
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