ANKARA: Turkey’s premier on Saturday said his government would withdraw Turkish soldiers from Lebanon if they were asked to disarm Hezbollah, as public concern runs high that Turkish soldiers could end up clashing with their fellow Muslims once deployed in Lebanon.

The government on Friday submitted a resolution to parliament to send peacekeepers to Lebanon as part of an expanded UN mission, despite public opposition to the deployment. The parliament is expected on Tuesday to vote on authorising a one-year deployment of an unspecified number of troops.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured Turks the soldiers would only be protecting peace and helping with humanitarian aid, not disarming Hezbollah militants.

“When such a thing is requested from our soldiers, then we will withdraw our soldiers from there. I’m saying this very openly,” Mr Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul on Saturday.

Europe, the United States and Israel are all eager to see peacekeepers from Turkey in Lebanon, in the hopes that strong Muslim participation would avoid any impression in Lebanon that the UN peacekeepers are primarily a Christian, European force. —AP