Special report: Israel-Lebanon conflicts
Israel, Lebanon agree on ceasefire
BEIRUT, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The commander of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon French General Alain Pellegrini said Monday that his troops will not try to disarm Hezbollah which is a matter for the Lebanese government.
"The disarmament of Hezbollah is not the business of UNIFIL. This is a strictly Lebanese affair, which should be resolved at a national level," Pellegrini told reporters.
The UNIFIL chief clarified that the main task of the beefed-up UNIFIL was to ensure that south Lebanon could not be used as abase for attacks against Israel.
"Our mission is to maintain a zone between the Blue Line and the Litani (River) where there is no illegal army and from which no one can launch hostile acts," Pellegrini said.
The Blue Line is the United Nations-demarcated border between Lebanon and Israel.
The commander was speaking at a temporary base housing French troops in Beirut during a visit by France's Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, who arrived in Lebanon Sunday to review the deployment of French peacekeeping troops in south Lebanon.
France, which currently leads the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon known as UNIFIL, is expected to boost its contribution to the UN force to 2,000 troops.
The entire UNIFIL force is expected to increase to 15,000soldiers under the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which took effect on Aug. 14 to impose a truce between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla. Enditem
