[Telegraph-UK] Damien McElroy - UN forces in Lebanon have stepped up joint patrols with the country's army to intercept shipments of heavy weapons by the terrorist group Hizbullah to the border regions with Israel. Hizbullah's move to replace artillery and rocket stocks depleted in the 2006 war with Israel follows completion of its effort to rebuild its command and control across southern Lebanon. Hizbullah is known to have restocked its strongholds north of the Litani river with weapons from Iran and Syria. But the presence of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has so far deterred movement of arms further south. Officials said relations between UNIFIL, commanded by an Italian, Maj.-Gen. Claudio Graziano, and Hizbullah deteriorated in recent weeks as the security forces cracked down on movements over the Litani's bridges.
2008-01-08 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive