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France deploys frigate, helicopter to stop Gaza smuggling
Paris (AFP) Jan 24, 2009 A French frigate carrying a helicopter was on its way Friday to international waters off the coast of Gaza to participate in a mission against arms trafficking in the Palestinian territory, officials said. The deployment was ordered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in cooperation with Israel and Egypt as part of "immediate actions to fight against the smuggling of weapons towards Gaza," his office said in a statement. The French warship will conduct "surveillance in international waters off Gaza, in full cooperation with Egypt and Israel," the French presidency said. The statement appeared to indicate that the ship would be restricted to surveillance operations and will not board boats suspected of carrying weapons. Cooperation with Israel and Egypt appeared to imply that France would share intelligence with the two countries, which could conduct searches of suspect ships in their respective waters. The French military said late Friday that the warship named Germinal, which was deployed off Lebanon as part of a UN mission, would reach its destination "in the coming hours". The ship carries a helicopter and radars that can track nearby boats, said Captain Christophe Prazuck. Germinal will act as a "maritime control tower that detects all ships within its radar range and allows the tracking of their movements in a radius of several dozen kilometres," Prazuck said. The warship was also on a mission to prevent weapons smuggling to Lebanon by sea. The Panther helicopter will collect precise information on the identity and characteristics of passing ships. France, Britain and Germany have offered to help prevent arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip as part of measures to shore up a fragile truce following a 22-day offensive on the territory controlled by the Islamist group Hamas. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged to provide naval support. The French president's office said the priority was to "consolidate the current ceasefire, through humanitarian action, the total halt of arms trafficking towards Gaza, the durable reopening of border crossings, reconstruction and Palestinian reconciliation." It also called for "tight coordination with the United States and European partners to propose additional actions in the fight against weapons smuggling through maritime and land routes." Sarzkoy reiterated his call for the quick reopening of the Rafah border crossing "under European supervision," the statement said. The French president's office said "2009 must be the year of the signing of the peace agreement." Share This Article With Planet Earth
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