Troops take charge of Hizbullah strongholds

MIDDLE EAST: Lebanese troops deployed in south Lebanon yesterday, linking up with UN peacekeepers to take control of Hizbullah…

MIDDLE EAST: Lebanese troops deployed in south Lebanon yesterday, linking up with UN peacekeepers to take control of Hizbullah strongholds as Israeli forces pulled back after their 34-day war with the guerrillas.

But plans to send an expanded UN force to the region quickly to cement a tenuous truce were dealt a blow when France said that it would contribute only a token number of troops.

Hizbullah fighters melted away as Lebanese troops crossed the Litani River, some 20km (13 miles) from the Israeli border, to take over a region the army has not controlled for decades.

Dozens of people lined roads, waving red-and-white Lebanese flags and throwing rice and flowers in celebration.

READ MORE

"May God protect you," 64-year-old Khadeeja Sheet yelled at the passing soldiers. "We support nobody except our army."

A UN-backed truce halted the fighting on Monday. The Security Council adopted a resolution calling for the Lebanese army and an expanded UN force of up to 15,000 troops to deploy in the south and replace Hizbullah and Israeli forces.

More than 100 Lebanese trucks, troop-carriers and jeeps streamed across a makeshift bridge on the Litani to the mainly Christian town of Marjayoun, about 8km (five miles) from the Israeli border.

Unifil said about 800 Lebanese troops had deployed in the Marjayoun area and some 500 around the town of Tibnin.

The Israeli army said it had begun "transferring responsibility" in the south in a staged process that was "conditional on the reinforcement of Unifil and the ability of the Lebanese army to take effective control of the area".

More than 200,000 refugees have returned to the shattered south without waiting for the Israelis to complete their pull-out and despite unexploded munitions strewn over the region.

Two children were killed by a cluster bomb explosion in the southern town of Naqoura yesterday, UN officials said.

There was no sign of Hizbullah guerrillas as the Lebanese troops moved south. Even unarmed members of the group seen on previous days riding around on scooters and giving instructions to people in the south had disappeared.

Hizbullah has promised to co-operate with Lebanese and UN troops, but has insisted that it will not disarm or quit the south.

At least 1,110 people in Lebanon and 157 Israelis were killed in the conflict.

Meanwhile, UN peacekeeping officials met representatives of countries which might send troops to bolster the UN force. Shortly before the meeting, President Jacques Chirac said that France would send only an additional 200 troops to join the force, disappointing UN officials.

The UN had counted on France to lead an advance contingent of 3,500 troops it hoped to deploy within two weeks.

Mr Chirac left open the possibility that France might eventually provide more soldiers and said that some 1,700 French troops positioned near Lebanon would be made available to the UN, but would not be placed under UN control.

Germany ruled out sending any ground troops, but Chancellor Angela Merkel said that naval help would be considered.

"The implications for our force generation process, were there not to be a strong core from a developed western military, would be tremendously negative," a UN peacekeeping official said. "It is highly unfortunate that this discussion is going on the day of our first formal meeting of troop-contributing countries."

A passenger flight landed at Beirut international airport for the first time in five weeks as an air blockade of Lebanon was eased. An airliner of Middle East Airlines, Lebanon's flag-carrier, flew in from Jordan's capital, Amman. A Royal Jordanian flight was due to follow. Scheduled flights are to resume next week.

An Israeli naval blockade remains in force, as part of an effort to stop Hizbullah from getting fresh arms supplies. Israel also wants the Turkish military to impose an air and ground embargo to prevent Iran funnelling weapons through Turkey to Syria and then to Hizbullah, an Israeli security source said.

Iran says it gives Hizbullah only moral support.