Annan again urges Israel to lift Lebanon blockade
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday renewed his calls on Israel to lift a blockade on Lebanon swiftly and to withdraw fully from the country as soon as 5,000 UN peacekeepers are in the south.
"I expect -- and I did make this clear to the Israeli authorities -- that when the international forces have reached 5,000 and are deployed to the south with the Lebanese (army), it is time for them to withdraw and withdraw completely," Annan told a news conference after talks with Jordan's King Abdullah. He said in a radio interview he hoped the UN peacekeepers would be in place "within a week or 10 days". (Reuters)
