DATE=7/30/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=LEBANON/BORDER (L CQ)
NUMBER=2-264949
BYLINE=KATE SEELYE
DATELINE=BEIRUT
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
/// REVISING GRAF TWO OF TEXT, REMOVING INDIAN
BATTALION FROM CR 2-264944 ///
INTRO: U-N peacekeeping troops have begun deploying
along the Lebanon-Israel border, two-months after the
Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon. Kate Seelye
reports.
TEXT: U-N peacekeepers raised the blue U-N flag in
four positions along the Lebanon-Israel border.
The deployment was not without problems. In one
position near the town of Rmeish, Hizbollah guerrillas
blocked deployment of one U-N battalion for several
hours. After intervention by a Lebanese army
official, the battalion was allowed to take up its
position.
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud gave the go-ahead for
the deployment Saturday. His decision reportedly
followed a telephone call to Syrian President Bashar
Assad. Syria is Lebanon's main power broker, with 35-
thousand troops stationed in the country.
For the past two-months Lebanon has delayed moving
troops to the frontier, accusing Israel of border
violations. Two U-N battalions took up positions
along the border Friday - a sign the long-awaited U-N
deployment had begun. But hours later the Lebanese
government halted all further troop moves, claiming
Israel continued to encroach on Lebanese territory.
Though limited, the current U-N presence is expected
to improve security in the border area. Armed
Hizbollah guerrillas have been manning observation
posts along the frontier. Since Israel's retreat May
24th, they have been left to fill the security vacuum,
becoming the ruling authority in the former Israeli
occupied zone. The guerrillas have said they will
cooperate with U-N and Lebanese authorities, but they
have not indicated if they will disarm.
U-N teams and the Lebanese army are expected to meet
Monday to discuss the full deployment of the 55-
hundred U-N peacekeepers in Lebanon. Lebanon is
poised to send in one-thousand members of its army and
police when U-N troops are fully deployed. (SIGNED)
NEB/KS/DW/RAE/KBK
30-Jul-2000 16:08 PM EDT (30-Jul-2000 2008 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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