NAM calls for deployment of int'l force in Mideast
Malaysia is the current chair of the 116-nation NAM, and Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said in a statement on the grouping's behalf that the international community must act to reduce tensions.
"The international community ... should make every effort to ensure that these aggressive military actions by Israel do not lead to a widening of the conflict involving other countries in the region," Syed Hamid said.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. "They must exert efforts for an immediate ceasefire and the deployment of an international force, so as to de-escalate the conflict and stabilise the situation," he said.
Syed Hamid, who called for special efforts from the UN Security Council and the diplomatic "quartet" of the US, Russia, the European Union and the UN, said NAM condemed Israel's "disproportionate use of force".
The grouping also accused Israel of undermining peace efforts and said its offensive showed the country's "cynical attitude" towards the peace process.
"Israels brutal military actions in Gaza and Beirut ... have not only weakened efforts towards peace but also reflect its lack of seriousness to be a genuine 'Partner for Peace'," said Syed Hamid.
Thousands of foreigners are being evacuated by sea to Cyprus. The United Nations warned of a humanitarian "catastrophe" that has already displaced half a million people in Lebanon.
The European Union and the United States are preparing to send envoys to the region. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has outlined plans for an international force for Lebanon that he said should be "considerably larger" than the current 2,000-strong UN peacekeeping force.
But Israel has said it is "too early" to discuss such a possibility.
The Non-Aligned Movement is a grouping of mainly developing nations formed during the Cold War as an alternative to the Western and Eastern power blocs.
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