¡¡  WELLINGTON, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) is pursuing the possibility of sending a contingent for peacekeeping duties in Lebanon, Fiji Village reported Monday.

    The Suva-based news service said that Fiji's foreign affairs chief executive officer Isikeli Mataitoga has confirmed that they are assisting the military in putting together a proposal for cabinet on the needs for a contingent to be sent to Lebanon.

    "What we are trying to do at the moment, and when I say we, the government also including the military, are trying to put together, and they will be doing it in the next week or so, a proposal that will go to the relevant cabinet sub-committee and from there to government and then on to the UN as part of our offer for participating in the UNIFIL operations in Lebanon," said Mataitoga.

    "They have actually asked us including Fiji what offers we can make for Lebanon. And that is really what we are trying to do now. If you look at the costs involved, we need to try and find out what actually we can offer within our means," said Mataitoga.

    Military spokesman Major Neumi Leweni has also confirmed Monday that a draft has been forwarded to the home affairs minister after the RFMF studied all its options on a possible deployment to Lebanon.

    Fiji was previously one of the longest serving peacekeeping forces in Lebanon where many locals lost their lives in the line of duty. Enditem