By Coskun Ergul

ANKARA

Turkish soldiers in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, will remain there for one more year, parliament agreed on Monday.

Minister of Defense Fikri Isik gave a brief speech at the Grand National Assembly, saying that Turkey has already extended its peacekeeping mission in Lebanon nine times.

“Two Turkish Armed Forces officers and Turkish naval forces have been serving at UNIFIL base of Nakura, South Lebanon,” Isik said.

It is the ninth time Turkey’s parliament has extended participation in UNIFIL since it initially approved the mission in Sep. 2006. The new mandate will come into force in September this year.

UNIFIL was established in 1978 as Israel withdrew from Lebanon. The peacekeeping for is intended to provide security and help the Lebanese government rebuild its authority.

Almost 10,600 troops from 40 countries are part of the UNIFIL mission.

* Anadolu Agency correspondent Hatice Kesgin contributed to this report