Last update - 00:00 10/10/2006
Israel gives UN maps of minefields in southern Lebanon
By The Associated Press
Israel has provided maps of minefields it had laid in southern Lebanon, a move that falls in line with the United Nations cease-fire resolution that ended the Israel-Hezbollah fighting, a UN statement said Monday.
Disclosing minefields has been one of the demands of the Lebanese government and Hezbollah guerrillas for years.
A statement issued by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon said the Israel Defense Forces provided the maps to the peacekeepers at a meeting of Lebanese, UNIFIL and Israeli generals at the force's headquarters in the border town of Naqoura.
The statement said UNIFIL in turn handed over the maps to the UN Mine Action Coordination Center and the Lebanese army for review.
"The Israelis have said this should cover everything," Milos Strugar, senior adviser to the UNIFIL commander, told The Associated Press. But he withheld judgment pending the review.
The UN Security Council cease-fire resolution that ended the July 12 - August 14 fighting between Israel and Hezbollah called on Israel to provide maps of minefields.
Disclosing the locations of several hundred thousand mines that were laid during Israel's 1982-2000 occupation of a border zone in southern Lebanon has been one of the main demands of the Lebanese government and Hezbollah.
Israel twice previously provided maps - following the 2000 withdrawal and in 2004 as part of a prisoner swap with Hezbollah. But both the Lebanese government and Hezbollah repeatedly demanded that Israel give full disclosure on the matter.
Cluster bombs dropped by Israel in this summer's fighting present another concern. UN demining experts say up to 1 million unexploded cluster bombs could be in south Lebanon and said Israel has not responded to repeated requests to hand over detailed information about the cluster bomb strikes.
So far, 14 people have been killed and around 90 injured from unexploded cluster bombs since the cease-fire according to the UN.
Israeli forces pulled out of south Lebanon last week, also in line with the UN resolution. But the Israelis kept control of the Lebanese side of the divided border village of Ghajar. Discussions have since focused on returning that tiny piece of land to Lebanon.
Yesterday's UN statement said Lebanese, Israeli and UNIFIL officers discussed the situation around Ghajar "with a view of ensuring a speedy withdrawal" of Israeli forces from the area.
But the sides apparently did not reach an agreement yet.
Indonesia delays deployment of peacekeeping force to Lebanon
Indonesia will delay its deployment of peacekeeping troops to Lebanon by one week for logistical reasons, a military spokesman said Tuesday.
It is the second delay to the dispatch of Indonesia's 850-strong force.
An advance team of 150 soldiers in now scheduled to leave on October 17, with the main body of the force leaving in the first week of November, said Rear Admiral Sunarto Syukronoputra.
Syukronoputra cited logistical reasons in Lebanon as the reason for the delay.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation and was quick to offer troops to the United Nations mission to enforce a cease-fire in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah brokered by the UN following a war that lasted from July 12 to August 14.
Israel initially objected because it does not have diplomatic ties with Indonesia.