[New York Times] Warren Hoge - Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Monday that Lebanon could control its border with Syria without the assistance of international troops and had already confiscated illegal arms in the south. Siniora said he had deployed 8,600 Lebanese Army soldiers along the border and that he had accepted an offer from Germany for technical equipment and training to help prevent the entry of unauthorized weapons into Lebanon. The control of the border has emerged as a major concern in the international effort to dismantle Hizballah in southern Lebanon and to prevent its rearmament with weaponry coming in from Syria. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who arrived in Beirut on Monday at the start of an 11-day trip to the Middle East, said, "It is important that the borders are protected and there are no attempts to rearm."
2006-08-29 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive