Hizbullah supporters in Beirut
Photo: AFP
Report: UNIFIL chief in Lebanon stopped at Hizbullah checkpoint
Militants try to prevent Major General Claudio Graziano from gathering information on terror group's activities in south Beirut
The commander of UNIFIL's forces in Lebanon, Major General Claudio Graziano of Italy, was recently stopped by Hizbullah militants at a checkpoint in Beirut to prevent him from gathering information on the terror group's activities in the capital's south.
According to a report published by Kuwaiti newspaper Al Seyassah, the militants acted under direct orders from senior Hizbullah officials.
UNIFIL is tasked with keeping Hizbullah weapons out of the area south of the Litani River, and a number of confrontations between the sides have been reported in the past few months. However, it appears that UNIFIL's method of operation will not change drastically as a result.
Hizbullah continues to operate unabated in other parts of the country as well. A senior Lebanese official said recently that the countries that sent contingents of soldiers who make up the international force do not want it to expand its activity to the border with Syria due to the region's "sensitivity".
Last June a bomb detonated in south Lebanon killed six Spanish UNIFIL soldiers. Hizbullah was quick to denounce the attack.
