Australia pulls troops from southern Lebanon, NZ observers to stay

Kofi Annan said the targeting of the UN post appeared deliberate. Picture / Reuters

Australia is withdrawing its troops from southern Lebanon to Beirut, but New Zealand has opted to keep in place soldiers serving as UN observers.

The decision come after Israeli air strikes killed four United Nations observers on Wednesday.

Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said Australia was pulling back its 12 troops in southern Lebanon, who were helping to evacuate thousands of Australians, to the relative safety of Beirut.

But 11 Australians serving as UN observers in the country would remain at their posts, including in southern Lebanon.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said New Zealand would keep two defence force personnel with the UN at their posts for now.

On Wednesday Squadron Leader Andrew Greig of the New Zealand Air Force came close to being a casualty at the UN base.

Helen Clark said the Israeli Ambassador to New Zealand, Naftali Tamir, based in Australia, was given a message expressing New Zealand's outrage at the attack on the UN base.

The New Zealand Embassy in Turkey, which is accredited to Israel, passed on the same message.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said 36 New Zealanders had opted to stay in Lebanon. It is trying to organise the evacuation of one family which had just arrived in Beirut.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer, who served with the Australian Army in the Vietnam war, blamed rogue elements in the Israeli military for the escalation of violence.

"There is a rogue element in the Israeli military machine and it's about time the world called a spade a spade and recognised that that element has been there for several years and continues.

"In 1996 the Fijians, the poor old Fijians, maintaining a UN compound in exactly the same area, took a hit which killed 104 people sheltering in the UN compound."

- STAFF REPORTER / AGENCIES