Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
U.N. doubts major Hezbollah rearming in south Lebanon
Wed May 20, 2009 4:28pm EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - It is highly unlikely that Lebanese Hezbollah militants have more weapons now in southern Lebanon than they did at the time of their 2006 war with Israel, the head of U.N. peacekeeping said Wednesday.
Israel says Hezbollah continues to increase its weapons stockpiles south of the Litani River where the 13,000-strong UNIFIL peacekeeping mission is charged with keeping out armed fighters and illicit weapons.
"I think it would be very difficult for Hezbollah to put additional weapons in the area," Alain Le Roy, the French head of the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping, told reporters.
"I don't speak of north of the Litani River, because there UNIFIL has no mandate," he said. "But south of the Litani River, we consider it very unlikely."
But Le Roy added that he could not be certain: "We cannot give a 100 percent guarantee."
Western diplomats have privately voiced concerns that the Shi'ite militant group has succeeded in replenishing its weapons caches and that UNIFIL has not been entirely effective in preventing weapons smuggling due to its limited mandate.
Le Roy spoke of the limitations on UNIFIL's mandate, under which peacekeepers are there to assist the Lebanese army. For example, he said, UNIFIL lacks the authority to search houses for weapons unless they have "clear evidence" of hidden arms.
UNIFIL has been in Lebanon since 1978 but was beefed up after the 2006 war. Security Council Resolution 1701, approved after the war ended, gave the force tougher rules of engagement to police the area south of the Litani River.
However, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's March report on UNIFIL to the Security Council made clear that southern Lebanon remained problematic.
"The rocket attacks and the findings during the reporting period (late 2008 and early 2009) demonstrate that there are still weapons and hostile armed elements ready to use them within (UNIFIL's) area of operations," Ban said.
Privately, several peacekeeping officials have acknowledged that UNIFIL's limited mandate probably prevented it from uncovering more weapons caches. However, they also said they believed the Israelis were exaggerating the extent to which Hezbollah was stockpiling arms south of the Litani River.
UNIFIL's mandate is up for renewal in August.
CUTTING COSTS
Speaking about U.N. peacekeeping in general, Le Roy welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama's request for nearly $840 million for U.N. peacekeeping operations. He said it will be "extremely significant" if the funds are approved by the U.S. Congress.
The United Nations has 18 peacekeeping missions with more than 100,000 troops and police in the field. Its budget has grown to more than $8 billion and demand for blue helmets continues to increase around the world. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
UK's Brown says snap election would bring "chaos"
Afghanistan and Pakistan
Fighting the Taliban
A growing insurgency in Afghanistan is also spreading deep into Pakistan, making both countries crucial to U.S. war efforts in the region. Full Coverage
More International News
Iran tests missile as election race starts
| Video
Pakistani army says captures Taliban stronghold
| Video
Baghdad bomb kills 35 in poor Shi'ite district
U.S. says Myanmar trial outrageous, vote illegitimate
| Video
UK's Brown says snap election would bring "chaos"
| Video
More International News...
Featured Broker sponsored link
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-GM bankruptcy plan eyes quick sale to gov't
California budget ballot measures headed to defeat
Iran tests missile as election race starts | Video
"The Unit," "Earl," "Medium" get the ax
Wary of U.S. debt, China shifts gears on investment
Pattinson has "Breaking" news for "Twilight" fans
Target ditches bull's-eye for "up and up" arrow
Lambert and Allen to sing for "American Idol" crown | Video
Terminated Chrysler dealerships to challenge sale
Schoolboy Alfie not father of baby after all
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Netanyahu makes the rounds in DC
Deadly Indonesia plane crash
US pledges $110 mln for Pakistan
Obama reins in vehicle emissions.
Rebel leader death 'confirmed'
Talk of the Town
Two Americans killed in Afghan blast
"University G8" clashes in Italy
Painting relief for Haitians
Sri Lanka claims war victory
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
The Great Debate
U.S. military giant, diplomatic dwarf?
Bernd Debusmann
The U.S. armed forces outnumber the country’s diplomatic service and its major aid agency by a ratio of more than 180:1. Is the huge imbalance destined to remain a permanent fixture in the political landscape? Commentary
Follow Bernd Debusmann on Twitter
We want to hear from you
Join the Reuters Consumer Insight Panel and help us get to know you better
Please take a moment to complete our survey
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.