Dutch Defense Minister Henk Kamp has said that the Netherlands will not send troops to take part in a UN force in southern Lebanon, Dutch daily De Telegraaf reported on Friday.

The Netherlands simply has too many soldiers deployed elsewhere, Kamp said in an interview that will be published in the Telegraaf on Saturday.

Kamp referred to the current deployments to Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bosnia, the training mission in Iraq and the major operation in Uruzgan, Afghanistan.

"Freeing up troops isn't the problem," he explained. "We have for instance two marine battalions that could be deployed. But we are vulnerable when it comes to back up troops, it is the same units that are bearing the burden."

Kamp's comments supported earlier statements from Foreign Minister Ben Bot.

In Tuesday's meeting between the European Union foreign ministers, Netherlands, together with Britain and Germany objected to an immediate cease-fire.

Bot said that he first wants to be assured of a more sustainable truce and on the deployment of a credible international military force.

The government's cautious diplomatic position in the conflict in Lebanon is eliciting more and more criticism in the country.