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Israel gives UN maps of minefields in southern Lebanon
By The Associated Press

BEIRUT, Lebanon - 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 yesterday.

Disclosing minefields has been one of the demands of the Lebanese government and Hezbollah guerrillas for years.

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A statement issued by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon said Israel's army 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 the Hezbollah guerrillas.

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.

"The meeting was productive and the main focus was to finalize the IDF withdrawal," said Brigadier General J.P. Nehra, the deputy UNIFIL commander, according to the statement.

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