LEBANON: United Nations envoys in Beirut to assess implementation of truce agreement begin talks with Lebanese leaders; Aid ship unloaded at Beirut port; Mass funeral held in Bint Jbeil

United Nations envoys sent to the Middle East by Secretary General Kofi Annan to assess the implementation of a truce agreement began talks with Lebanese leaders on Saturday (August 19, 2006), as new Israeli raids in the east killed at least three guerillas, sources said. The officials, Vijay Nambiar, an senior adviser to Annan, and Terje Roed-Larsen, the top U.N. envoy on Syria-Lebanon issues, met Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to discuss the U.N. truce which ended 34 days of fighting between Israel and the Shi'ite Muslim group Hizbollah. The meetings came as an Israeli commando unit deep raided eastern Lebanon early on Saturday, in the first major attack since the truce took effect less than a week ago. "We are working to implement fully (United Nations Security Council) resolution 1701. The other side (Israel) should also work to implement this resolution," said Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh following the meeting with the envoys. A U.N.-ordered "cessation of hostilities" halted on Monday (August 14) the war between Israeli forces and Hizbollah guerrillas that had claimed at least 1,183 Lebanese and 157 Israelis. It ordered Israel to end all offensive action in Lebanon and Hizbollah to end all attacks on Israel or Israeli forces, the deployment of the Lebanese army and a beefed up U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon. "We do see that there are now opportunities and there might be a great upside for the Lebanese people and the government of Lebanon in order to continue to solidify and build democracy and to solidify the authority of the State of Lebanon in all its territory built on the Taif Agreement and also on the very constructive seven-point-plan of the government of Lebanon," Larsen said. Israeli officials have vowed to stop any attempts by Hizbollah to re-arm via Syria and to target leaders of the group. The United Nations appealed on Friday for Europeans to contribute to the U.N. force to create a balance between Western and Muslim troops acceptable to Israel and Lebanon. The United States urged France, which has offered only 200 new troops, to increase its contingent. Israeli officials have said that countries that do not have relations with the Jewish state should not be in the force. Indonesia and Malaysia are among them. The United Nations wants to field an advance force of 3,500 troops by Sept. 2 and hopes to have the entire complement in place by November 4. The U.N. Security Council on Aug. 11 authorised up to 13,000 troops in addition to the current 2,000-strong U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL. In the drive for the hearts and minds of the Lebanese, Hizbollah began handing out bundles of cash on Friday to people whose homes were wrecked by Israeli bombing, consolidating the Iranian-backed group's support among Shi'ites and embarrassing the Beirut government. Hizbollah fighters have melted away as the Lebanese army began deploying in south Lebanon this week, but they have not left the area or given up the rocket launchers they used to bombard Israel during the conflict. U.N. envoys Terje Roed-Larsen and Vijay Nambiar held talks in Beirut on Saturday (August 19) with officials about the U.N.-backed truce, as Israeli commandos raided a Hizbollah bastion in eastern Lebanon, in the first major attacks since fighting was halted last week. Larsen and Nambiar met Ahmad Fatfat, Interior Minister and parliament speaker Nabih Berri following talks with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh said he had complained about the assault to the U.N. envoys, in which three HIzbollah guerillas and one Israeli soldier were killed. The U.N. resolution adopted on Aug. 11 ordered Israel to end "all offensive military actions" and Hizbollah to end all attacks. It also called for an embargo on arms supplies not authorised by the Lebanese government and for the deployment of the Lebanese army in the south alongside a strengthened UNIFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping force in the area. Fifty French military engineers arrived at UNIFIL's main base in Naqoura on the south Lebanese coast, the first contingent of reinforcements since the war. The engineers were among 200 pledged by France, which has disappointed U.N. and U.S. hopes that it would form the backbone of the expanded U.N. force to supervise the truce, support the Lebanese army and monitor the withdrawal of Israeli troops. The United Nations wants to field an advance force of 3,500 troops by Sept. 2 and the entire complement of 13,000 extra troops by Nov. 4, as authorised by the U.N. resolution. The Lebanese army began deploying in the south on Thursday. Hizbollah fighters have lain low, without relinquishing their weapons, including the rockets they rained on Israel in the war. A mass funeral was held for Hizbollah fighters and civilians on Saturday (August 19) in Bint Jbeil, one of many Lebanese border villages smashed into apocalyptic wastelands in Israel's war with Hizbollah guerrillas. Coffins were carried through the town to remember the residents killed in the 34-day long war with Israel. Pictures of the deceased were paraded before the crowds as women wailed over the human losses. Many of the bodies were pulled out of the rubble from destroyed houses, shops and businesses. Bombarded for five weeks by Israeli artillery and air strikes, the road south of Lebanon's Litani river is a journey of ruin, lined by huge bomb craters, blasted petrol stations, wrecked houses and crushed cars. Israel said its air and ground attacks were the only way to stop Hizbollah rocket attacks into the north of the country. The war killed more than 1,100 people in Lebanon and at least 157 Israelis. Hizbollah says Israel also destroyed at least 15,000 homes. That does not include shops or other buildings or the more than $2.5 billion (USD) of damaged bridges, roads and other infrastructure. Bint Jbeil is located 4 km (2.5 miles) from Israel.

ITN Source | August 19, 2006

Tags:. .consolidating. .deployment. .interim. .rubble. .reinforcements