German congress nods extension of Lebanon mission

Germany's armed forces will continue to patrol the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Lebanon for at least another year following a nod from the German parliament on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Germany's grand-coalition government approved the extension of the mission with an overwhelming vote in the lower house of the parliament, the Bundestag.

However, the number of German servicemen involved in the operation is to be reduced to 1,400 from the current 2,400, according to the reports from the local radio Deutsche Welle.

Germany commands the United Nations naval mission UNIFIL, which was created following the war in the summer of last year between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

The patrols are aimed to prevent arms smuggling by sea to Hezbollah.