ITALIAN MARINES LAND IN SOUTHERN LEBANON
By John Kifner The New York Times
International Herald Tribune, France
Sept 4 2006
BEIRUT Hundreds of Italian marines and their armored vehicles landed
in southern Lebanon on Sunday, the first large foreign contingent
of what is to become a reinforced United Nations buffer force on the
border with Israel.
A spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force said that about 1,000
Italian troops were expected to be ashore by nightfall, including
a small vanguard that arrived in choppy seas on rubber dinghies and
helicopters Saturday.
With the 250-man French contingent that arrived last week – mainly
engineering troops who set to work repairing bombed-out bridges
and roads – and the 2,000 troops already in place from the previous
peacekeeping contingent, the Italians raise the number of troops on
the ground to roughly 3,250 out of a projected goal of 15,000.
The international force, officially known as the United Nations Interim
Force in Lebanon, or Unifil, is supposed to help the similar-sized
deployment of the Lebanese Army as the only legitimate armed group in
the area, securing an uneasy cease-fire after a monthlong war between
Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas.
But under a kind of "don’t flaunt, don’t search" arrangement between
Hezbollah and the Lebanese government, the army does not intend to
attempt to disarm Hezbollah.
Neither will the UN forces, officials have said, although they will
have a somewhat tougher mandate – enabling them to use force if
threatened – than the generally ineffective previous Unifil force,
in place since a previous Israeli invasion in 1978.
On armored personnel carriers newly painted with white UN initials,
Italian soldiers wearing blue berets drove through wrecked villages
bedecked with yellow Hezbollah flags, prompting locals to wave and
make victory signs.
Eventually, Italy intends to deploy 2,450 ground troops – the largest
single contingent – in four phases spread over two months and assume
command early next year.
The current French commander of Unifil, Major General Alain Pellegrini,
told reporters in Tyre that the new version of Unifil "is strengthened
with stronger rules of engagement."
"We have more people, more equipment, and we will have more possibility
to use force to implement our mission," he said.
But the efforts to fill out the full 15,000-troop deployment is still
hampered by the reluctance of many countries to join in what could
be a dangerous mission.
Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim country, announced that it
would send 1,000 troops after Israel withdrew objections to its
participation. Turkey is also weighing participation, although
Lebanon’s tiny Armenian minority has issued objections because of
massacres of Armenians by Turks in 1915.
Israel has announced that its troops, still on the fringes of
Lebanese territory, had located and blown up several Hezbollah weapons
caches. The United Nations has said that the Israeli forces should
fully withdraw over the border as soon as the international force
reaches 5,000 troops.
"The cease-fire is holding for the moment," Pellegrini said. "But
it’s fragile. Any incident can escalate."
Berlin delays deployment
Germany put on hold its planned naval deployment for the UN
peacekeeping mission in Lebanon on Sunday, saying it had yet to
receive a formal request from Beirut to take part, Reuters reported
from Berlin.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said the cabinet could not give approval for
the deployment on Monday, as had been expected, since it had not yet
received the request from Lebanon.
She said Germany remained willing to take part in the UN operation,
but wanted its role to be clear.
Germany has said it was prepared to patrol the Lebanese coast to
prevent weapons being delivered to Hezbollah guerrillas, but ruled
out sending ground troops.
"There is still discussion in Lebanon and between Lebanon and the UN
on the request for naval security," Merkel said on ZDF television.
"We can only decide when we have such a request at the UN and the UN
then asks us," she said. "And so, out of responsibility toward our
servicemen, we have said we cannot take a cabinet decision tomorrow."
In addition to supplying naval ships to patrol the coast, Germany
has said it was considering providing support for the Lebanese police
and border guards.
"The German offer remains, but prudence must come before speed here,
and therefore we will consult further with the UN on how a deployment
can be achieved, but only when the conditions are really fulfilled."
Earlier Sunday, a government spokesman, Ulrich Wilhelm, said Germany
would deploy troops only under "orderly conditions and with Lebanon’s
clear readiness."
BEIRUT Hundreds of Italian marines and their armored vehicles landed
in southern Lebanon on Sunday, the first large foreign contingent
of what is to become a reinforced United Nations buffer force on the
border with Israel.
A spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force said that about 1,000
Italian troops were expected to be ashore by nightfall, including
a small vanguard that arrived in choppy seas on rubber dinghies and
helicopters Saturday.
With the 250-man French contingent that arrived last week – mainly
engineering troops who set to work repairing bombed-out bridges
and roads – and the 2,000 troops already in place from the previous
peacekeeping contingent, the Italians raise the number of troops on
the ground to roughly 3,250 out of a projected goal of 15,000.
The international force, officially known as the United Nations Interim
Force in Lebanon, or Unifil, is supposed to help the similar-sized
deployment of the Lebanese Army as the only legitimate armed group in
the area, securing an uneasy cease-fire after a monthlong war between
Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas.
But under a kind of "don’t flaunt, don’t search" arrangement between
Hezbollah and the Lebanese government, the army does not intend to
attempt to disarm Hezbollah.
Neither will the UN forces, officials have said, although they will
have a somewhat tougher mandate – enabling them to use force if
threatened – than the generally ineffective previous Unifil force,
in place since a previous Israeli invasion in 1978.
On armored personnel carriers newly painted with white UN initials,
Italian soldiers wearing blue berets drove through wrecked villages
bedecked with yellow Hezbollah flags, prompting locals to wave and
make victory signs.
Eventually, Italy intends to deploy 2,450 ground troops – the largest
single contingent – in four phases spread over two months and assume
command early next year.
The current French commander of Unifil, Major General Alain Pellegrini,
told reporters in Tyre that the new version of Unifil "is strengthened
with stronger rules of engagement."
"We have more people, more equipment, and we will have more possibility
to use force to implement our mission," he said.
But the efforts to fill out the full 15,000-troop deployment is still
hampered by the reluctance of many countries to join in what could
be a dangerous mission.
Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim country, announced that it
would send 1,000 troops after Israel withdrew objections to its
participation. Turkey is also weighing participation, although
Lebanon’s tiny Armenian minority has issued objections because of
massacres of Armenians by Turks in 1915.
Israel has announced that its troops, still on the fringes of
Lebanese territory, had located and blown up several Hezbollah weapons
caches. The United Nations has said that the Israeli forces should
fully withdraw over the border as soon as the international force
reaches 5,000 troops.
"The cease-fire is holding for the moment," Pellegrini said. "But
it’s fragile. Any incident can escalate."
Berlin delays deployment
Germany put on hold its planned naval deployment for the UN
peacekeeping mission in Lebanon on Sunday, saying it had yet to
receive a formal request from Beirut to take part, Reuters reported
from Berlin.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said the cabinet could not give approval for
the deployment on Monday, as had been expected, since it had not yet
received the request from Lebanon.
She said Germany remained willing to take part in the UN operation,
but wanted its role to be clear.
Germany has said it was prepared to patrol the Lebanese coast to
prevent weapons being delivered to Hezbollah guerrillas, but ruled
out sending ground troops.
"There is still discussion in Lebanon and between Lebanon and the UN
on the request for naval security," Merkel said on ZDF television.
"We can only decide when we have such a request at the UN and the UN
then asks us," she said. "And so, out of responsibility toward our
servicemen, we have said we cannot take a cabinet decision tomorrow."
In addition to supplying naval ships to patrol the coast, Germany
has said it was considering providing support for the Lebanese police
and border guards.
"The German offer remains, but prudence must come before speed here,
and therefore we will consult further with the UN on how a deployment
can be achieved, but only when the conditions are really fulfilled."
Earlier Sunday, a government spokesman, Ulrich Wilhelm, said Germany
would deploy troops only under "orderly conditions and with Lebanon’s
clear readiness."