Security Council Scales Down U.N. Force In South Lebanon
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 30 (News Agencies) - The Security Council on Tuesday scaled down the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon from 5,800 troops to 4,500, its strength before the Israeli army withdrew from the area last year.
The 15 council members voted unanimously for a resolution to extend the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for six months to July 31st, but said it looked forward "the early fulfillment of the mandate."
UNIFIL was sent to south Lebanon in March 1978 after Israeli forces invaded the area and set up a buffer zone they said was designed to prevent attacks by Palestinian resistance fighters.
In a report to the council last week, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said that UNIFIL could now be reconfigured as partially armed military observation force.
The council called on the Lebanese government to "ensure the return of its effective authority and presence in the south, and in particular to increase the rate of the deployment of the Lebanese armed forces."
