Special report: Israel-Lebanon Conflicts   [Video][Gallery]

Special report: Israel, Lebanon agree on ceasefire

    BEIRUT, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in Beirut on Monday morning amid tight security, the pan-Arab al-Jazeera satellite channel reported.

    The report said that Blair arrived in Beirut to begin his first visit to Lebanon amid tight security, as demonstrators in the centre of Beirut squared off against police who had set up a tight security cordon.

    Hundreds of Lebanese soldiers and police armed with assault rifles were guarding a cordon of barbed wire and cement barriers, according to the report.

    Blair, who arrived from Tel Aviv shortly before 10:00 a.m. (0700 GMT) was to be formally greeted at the airport by Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.

    Lebanon's Shiite religious leader on the eve of Blair's visit called on Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora to declare him "persona non grata", describing Blair as a "key accomplice" in Israel's onslaught against Lebanon.

    Blair's visit in Lebanon was after his trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem on Saturday and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday.

    A spokesman for Blair said the visit was aimed at expressing Britain's support for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and at supporting Siniora for his "huge courage and leadership."

    Britain also wanted to resume their practical assistance for Lebanon as it recovers from Israel's devastating bombardments that laid waste to much of the country's infrastructure.

    The visit comes almost a month after a UN-brokered truce that brought a halt to the 34-day conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon and more than 160 Israelis. Enditem