UN denies forces underreporting Hizbullah activity
Peacekeeping force rejects Israeli assertion its forces fail to report weaponry stockpiling in southern Lebanon along Israeli border. UN spokeswoman says UNIFIL gives full reports of incidents
The UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon is denying Israeli charges that it has been ignoring Hizbullah activity in the area of the Israeli border.
In one incident, Israeli officials charge that the UNIFIL force stopped a truck filled with weapons but did not filed a full report. The officials say that Hizbullah has beefed up weapons' stockpiles in south Lebanon since the end of the Second Lebanon War in 2006 and that UN forces stationed in the border area are not reporting sightings in the area of armed Hizbullah gunmen to the Security Council.
UNIFIL spokeswoman Yasmina Bouziane released a statement late Monday saying, "These reports inaccurately represent the way in which UNIFIL operates and repeat the factual inaccuracies in disregard of our public statement that gave a full account of the incident."
The UN beefed up the peacekeeping force after a 34-day war between Israel and Hizbullah in 2006. Israel charges that the Lebanese guerrillas have been violating the cease-fire agreement.
The UN-brokered cease-fire that ended the war bars armed Hizbullah fighters from a buffer zone in south Lebanon patrolled by international peacekeepers.
