Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has ordered the army to increase
deployment along the Syrian border while at the same time allowing Hizbullah to increase its
armed presence near the border with Israel.
A United Nations report said the government of Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad
Siniora has embarked on a policy to reduce the military presence in southern
Lebanon. At the same time, Siniora has ordered the army to increase
deployment along the Syrian border.
Lebanon, the report said, has failed to fulfill Resolution 1559, passed
in September 2004 and which called for the disarming of Hizbullah and
Palestinian insurgency groups. The report said
the Beirut government has also refused to impose its authority over
Hizbullah-dominated areas in southern Lebanon, Middle East Newsline reported.
The report, authored by UN special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen, said that in
June 2005 the Lebanese Army reduced its presence in southern Lebanon. As a
result, the report said, Hizbullah increased its presence near the Israeli
border.
In contrast, Lebanon has increased military deployment along the border
with Syria. The report said the Lebanese Army has erected checkpoints and
surrounded Palestinian insurgency bases around Beirut and the Bekaa Valley.
"Prime Minister Siniora has further informed me of a recent increased
deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces along the border with Syria for the
purpose of halting the illegal transfer of arms and people," Roed-Larsen
said. "He has further informed me that the Lebanese Armed Forces have
erected checkpoints and increased their presence around positions of armed
Palestinian groups to the south of Beirut and in the Beqaa Valley in recent
weeks, and that the government of Lebanon has begun a dialogue with such
groups on the issue of their arms."
On July 1, the UN relayed its concern to the Beirut government over the
reduction of the Lebanese Army presence in the south. Later, the Lebanese
army restored the level of troop deployment, but the report did not cite a
corresponding reduction in Hizbullah's military presence.
"The Lebanese authorities stated to me that measures of a reduced army
presence were part of an overall redeployment of the army throughout the
country as a result of a reduction in its troop strength from 60,000 to
40,000 troops," the report, released on Wednesday, said.
"There has not been any noticeable change in the operational status and
capabilities of Hizbullah, which, according to its own leadership, has more
than 12,000 missiles at its disposal," the report said.
The report said a range of insurgency groups aligned with Syria continue
to operate in Lebanon. The UN said Syria has acknowledged the smuggling of
arms and weapons to and from Lebanon.
"The government of Syria has informed me that the smuggling of arms and
people across the Syrian-Lebanese border does indeed take place, albeit in
both directions," UN secretary-general Koffi Annan said.
The report cited a national debate concerning the need to disband and
disarm both Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias. The UN envoy said Siniora
has pledged to extend its control over all of Lebanon, but did not cite any
plans.
In the meantime, the report said, Hizbullah and Palestinian insurgency
groups operate freely in Lebanon. The report said Lebanese authorities "do
not generally enter" Palestinian refugee camps, where Al Qaida-aligned and
Palestinian groups operate.
"Although important progress has been made, I will continue to assign
the matter of the full restoration of the sovereignty and political
independence of Lebanon the highest priority in my efforts to assist the
parties in the implementation of Resolution 1559 [2004] in the coming
months," Roed-Larsen said.
The report verified the complete withdrawal of the Syrian military in
April 2005. But Roed-Larsen said his team has heard reports from Lebanese of
a continued Syrian intelligence presence in their country.
"It was possible that some Syrian intelligence officers made a few
fleeting visits to Lebanon after their withdrawal, and that it was probable
that Syrian intelligence officers made telephone calls to maintain networks
of contacts, bolster their influence and subtly manipulate the political
environment," the report said. "However, the extent and purpose of any such
activity is difficult to assess."