The deployment of nearly 1,000 Indonesian peacekeepers to Lebanon has been delayed for a fourth time due to logistical difficulties faced by the United Nations, a military official said on Friday.
An advance team of 129 personnel was supposed to leave for their tour on Saturday, but armed forces deputy spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki told AFP they would now depart on November 5.
"The main batch of our troops will now leave on November 24," Basuki said, adding that the delay was again due to logistical problems faced by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Indonesia had initially expected its main 851-strong contingent to be on the ground by early October, after Israel dropped an initial objection to the world's most populous Muslim nation participating in the expanded UN force.
The two nations do not have diplomatic relations.
The departure of the main team was then pushed back to the end of October, then November 3 or 4, and then November 9.
As of a week ago, UNIFIL's strength was 7,340 men, or about half the 15,000 authorised by United Nations resolution 1701 ending hostilities between Israel and Hizbullah on August 14.