Italian troops arrive in Lebanon
150 Italian marines land in southern Lebanon, with another 200 expected on Sunday in Beirut to boost UN peacekeeing force
Italian soldiers began pouring into Lebanon on Saturday, as part of the first large contingent of international troops dispatched to boost the UN force keeping the peace between Israel and Hizbullah guerrillas.
Around 150 Italian marines wearing blue berets arrived aboard a wave of gray UN helicopters in the Mediterranean port city of Tyre to secure two beaches where the remainder of an 880-strong battalion of soldiers will land over the weekend.
High waves delayed the deployment, though, and some vehicles and equipment were diverted further south to Naqoura.
Another 200 Italian troops are expected Sunday in the capital, Beirut.
The commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL, French Gen. Alain Pellegrini, said the expanded peacekeeping mission marked a break from the past.
"We have to forget the previous UNIFIL. The previous UNIFIL is dead and the new one is very different,"
Pellegrini told reporters. "It is strengthened with stronger rules of engagement. We will have more people
more equipment. We have the possibility to use force to implement our mission."
International troops have been slow to arrive in Lebanon since an Aug. 14 ceasefire brought an end to 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hizbullah, in part because it took time to hammer out details over the troops' mandate.
Besides the Italian contingent, just 250 extra French soldiers have made it to the country, though France has said it will send a total of 2,000 troops. The Italians' arrival will bring the number of UN forces to around 3,250.
Also Saturday, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda announced his country will send up to 1,000 soldiers to southern Lebanon by the month's end, after Israel dropped objections to its participation in the force.
Israel had said it did not want Indonesia to take part because the predominantly Muslim nation did not have relations with the Jewish state.
The UN force is to expanded over the next few months to 15,000 and deployed with an equal number of Lebanese soldiers across south Lebanon as Israeli forces withdraw from positions they invaded last month, leaving behind a buffer zone theoretically free of Hizbullah fighters and arms between the Litani River and the UN-drawn border, or Blue Line, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) to the south.
Hizbullah has vowed not to lay down its weapons and its fighters have melted away into the civilian population. The Lebanese army has made no moves to disarm them.
In the meantime, Israel has been destroying Hizbullah arms caches in territories it still occupies in the south "very often," Pellegrini said.
On Friday, the Israeli army said its forces had demolished an unspecified number of Hizbullah bunkers that contained rocket-propelled grenade launchers, mortar shells and communications equipment near the Lebanese border village of Aita al-Shaab.
Pellegrini said the ceasefire is holding, "but it's fragile, any incident can escalate."
He said there had been no recent exchanges of fire or shootings, but Israeli jets conducting reconnaissance missions have repeatedly violated Lebanese air space. He also said Israeli forces had crossed the so-called Blue Line that separates Lebanon from its southern neighbor, but gave no details.
