WASHINGTON – U.N. Secretary -General Kofi Annan published a statement Friday demanding that Lebanon disarm Hizbullah.
Speaking to reporters at the U.N. headquarters in New York, Annan also called on Syria andIran to work toward taking the terror group apart, and mentioned that a number of senior Hizbullah members are considering dismantling the organization.
Following the completion of Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon, international efforts are focusing on implementing the second part of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for the dismantling of Hizbullah and the remaining Lebanese militias.
In his half-year report to the U.N. Security Council regarding Resolution 1559, Annan stated Hizbullah and other militias have not been disarmed and that Syrian intelligence agents have evacuated their Beirut headquarters, but Lebanese opposition sources said the agents have positioned themselves in other parts of the capital and the country.
In his report, Annan also rejected claims made by the Lebanese government that Hizbullah is a resistance force fighting Israeli occupation of Shebaa Farms.
Annan’s report is based on Special U.N. Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen’s recent trip to Syria and Lebanon.
Larsen said the Lebanese and foreign militias have not been disarmed, despite the Security Council’s decision on the matter.