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LEBANON: UN’S ANNAN FINDS 13 INCIDENTS OF ILLICIT ARMS December 2, 2006
Bonny Apunyu
(SomaliNet) The United Nations (UN’s) Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Friday that the UN documented 13 incidents of illegal weapons in southern Lebanon since early September, U.N., calling Beirut's border monitoring deficient.
To that effect, the U.N. Security Council resolutions have called on Lebanon to disarm all militias on its soil, including Hezbollah guerrillas, and banned all unauthorized arms in Lebanon.
However, the UN general secretary in an eight-page status report to the U.N. Security Council said there were "significant deficiencies" in equipment, training and coordination among four different Lebanese government services responsible for the borders.
"It is plain that there is a need for bilateral assistance to the government to enhance its border security capabilities," Annan wrote, asking nations to help Beirut.
Annan said that he continued to receive reports of illegal arms smuggling across the Lebanese-Syrian border but has been unable to verify them.
Of the 13 incidents of unauthorized weaponry, two were reported earlier this month by U.N. peacekeepers, who found 17 Katyusha rockets and several explosive devices in the area of Rachaiya El-Foukhar and Berghouz as well as a seven missiles, three rocket launchers and substantial amounts of ammunition, which the Lebanese army destroyed.