The special battalion was formed at the order of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in anticipation of a possible UN request for an international force, said The Jakarta Post, quoting a high-ranking officer with the Indonesian Military (TNI).

The special battalion consists of three companies from the Army's Strategic Reserve Command and a company from the Marine Corps.

"They are ready whenever they are needed," said TNI spokesman Rear Adm. Soenarto.

He added that the military personnel were all combat-trained. They are fully armed and supplied with other equipment, such as tanks, to make the peace mission effective.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has called for a cease-fire and an international force to end Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which has claimed hundreds of civilian lives.

Annan has strongly denounced the mounting conflict, especially the deadly Israeli airstrikes on the Lebanese town of Qana on Sunday.

Indonesia has previously deployed its Garuda contingents as peacekeeping forces and observer missions to numerous countries including Congo, Iraq, Kuwait, Cambodia, Somalia, Mozambique, Slovenia, Georgia, Afghanistan and the Philippines under U.N. auspices.