Italy offers to lead UN force for Lebanon
Prime Minister Prodi says his country is ready to lead UN force in south Lebanon, offers 2,000 troops to force
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said on Monday his country was ready to lead a UN force in south Lebanon, where shooting by Israeli troops at Hizbullah fighters showed the fragility of a week-old truce.
Prodi told reporters in Italy that he had informed UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who he said would make a final decision on the command of the force this weekend.
The Beirut government welcomed Italy's offer of 2,000 troops, the biggest commitment any country has yet made. Israel has already said it would be happy if Italy led the force.
Italy's right-wing opposition warned the deployment could prove a "kamikaze" mission.
President Bush called earlier for the urgent dispatch of UN peacekeepers to south Lebanon,
Turkey, Spain and other countries are still hesitating over whether to send contingents after France, earlier tipped to lead the force, sharply reduced its anticipated contribution.
"The international community must now designate the leadership of this international force, give it robust rules of engagement and deploy it as quickly as possible to secure the peace," Bush told a news conference in Washington.
France had earlier been expected to lead the mission but then dismayed the United Nations by offering only 200 troops to add to those it already has in the existing 2,000-strong UNIFIL.
In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the situation in Lebanon as "very fragile" and also called for a swift deployment of UN forces. Her country will not send combat troops, but will help patrol the Lebanese coast.
