Special report: Israel-Lebanon conflicts [Gallery] [Videos]

    ANKARA, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said here Friday that Turkish troops would go to Lebanon just for peacekeeping purposes, not to fight.

    Gul made the remarks in response to a recent media report that forces in Lebanon would be involved in clashes and might be forced to disarm groups.

    Turkish troops would not have any duty such as collecting the arms of a certain group there and they would organize and support humanitarian aid in Lebanon, Gul said at a news conference with Hikmet Cetin, who completed his term as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)'s senior representative to Afghanistan.

    "There is no doubt that troops should also be authorized to protect themselves. If you don't give them this authorization, then you will endanger their lives," the foreign minister said.

    Gul underscored that the mission of the UN peacekeeping forces to be deployed in Lebanon should be clarified in a written document.

    Meanwhile, the Turkish top diplomat said, "the official message on deployment of Turkish soldiers in Lebanon will be sent to parliament today."

    Early this week, the Turkish cabinet had decided "in principle" to contribute to the peacekeeping forces and said that they would ask the parliament to reconvene on Sept. 5 for an extraordinary meeting to discuss sending Turkish troops to Lebanon.

    The UN Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted on Aug. 11, calls for Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon and authorizes an increase of the existing UN force in Lebanon to 15,000 troops to help Lebanese troops take control of southern Lebanon as Israel withdraws. Enditem