BEIRUT, September 15 (RIA Novosti) - A detachment of guards with light small arms will ensure the safety of the Russian contingent in Lebanon, the head of the Russian delegation in the Mideast country said Friday.
"The Russian battalion will have one or two guards detachments," Lieutenant General Ivan Tsygankov said.
The Russian Defense Ministry is expected to send combat engineers to help Lebanon restore its infrastructure in late September.
Before the August 14 ceasefire, Israeli military operations claimed the lives of about 1,000 Lebanese civilians, forced nearly a quarter of the country's population to flee and demolished large parts of the country's infrastructure.
Tsygankov said the guards will protect the Russian contingent wherever it is deployed, as well as during its transit between sites.
On Thursday Tsygankov said the Russian contingent will mostly operate in Sayda, 48 km (30 miles) south of Beirut. Most of Lebanon's facilities were destroyed, he added, but Lebanese military officials said bridges are a priority for the country, and proposed that the Russian group consider their restoration.
Yesterday Tsygankov and a group of Russian military experts were in Lebanon to gauge the extent of the damage to five ruined bridges in Lebanon.
"We are ready to restore everything that we saw today within a month," he said.
He said that during their stay Russians will also instruct Lebanese specialists, adding that he was satisfied with Lebanese cooperation.
