UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned Saturday that arms smuggling from Syria could threaten the cease-fire in Lebanon and urged full compliance with a UN resolution that ended the summer war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Noting allegations that the arms embargo on Hezbollah was not being enforced, Ban met Friday with Lebanese security chiefs during his two-day visit to Lebanon to discuss ways of enhancing the Lebanese army's monitoring capabilities of the along border with Syria, one of Hezbollah's principal patrons.

UN Resolution 1701 which halted the 34 days of fighting calls among other things for a stop in arms shipments to Hezbollah militants and demands the unconditional release of two Israeli soldiers the militants captured, triggering the conflict.

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The leading Lebanese daily An-Nahar reported Saturday that Ban told the Lebanese security chiefs that Israel had provided him with evidence and pictures of trucks crossing from Syria to Lebanon and unloading weapons.

On Saturday, Ban again voiced concern about the reported arms smuggling.
"There are intelligence reports that arms are smuggled. I am concerned by that kind of arms smuggling, which will destabilize the situation in Lebanon," he told reporters during a stop at the headquarters of the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.

Ban urged all sides to obey the UN resolution and expressed the need for an enhanced monitoring capacity of the Lebanese armed forces to ensure that there will be no such smuggling activity.

The UN chief on Saturday visited with peacekeepers in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border to thank the men and women from 30 countries who are monitoring a cease-fire after the Second Lebanon War.

Ban flew by helicopter from Beirut to the headquarters of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon at the Lebanese coastal border town of Naqoura, where he was briefed by senior commanders. He was expected to fly over the Blue Line, the UN-demarcated border between Lebanon and Israel, and make stops at several of the force's bases before flying to New York, ending a Mideast tour.

"This is an occasion for me to express my gratitude in person to all of you," he said during a ceremony at the headquarters. "This visit will allow me to see the challenging environment in which you live and work," he added, "paying homage to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice and those who were injured during the 29-year-old mission in southern Lebanon."

On Friday, the UN chief urged progress on the fate of captured Israel Defense Forces soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.

"I impressed on them [Lebanese officials] the need to have some progress on the unresolved prisoners issue," Ban said at a joint press conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.

"I am disappointed that there has not been proof of life of the two Israeli soldiers," he added. "This is a humanitarian matter."

Hezbollah has not provided any information about the conditions of the soldiers, who were seized in a cross-border raid on July 12, triggering the summer's war.

He met separately Friday with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a major figure in the opposition, and as well as Siniora, who is backed by the parliamentary majority.

Ban called for the full implementation of a United Nations Security Council resolution that ended the Second Lebanon War.

"I raised the importance of the full implementation of that resolution," Ban told reporters after his talks with Berri, who is a close ally of Hezbollah.

The resolution calls for a halt in arms shipments to Hezbollah, and demands the unconditional release of both IDF soldiers.

The resolution also provided for the deployment of a reinforced UN peacekeeping force, now numbering close to 13,000. The force patrols a weapons-free zone along the border with Israel alongside thousands of Lebanese troops.

During a stop in Israel last week, Defense Minister Amir Peretz told Ban that the UN-brokered cease-fire in southern Lebanon is endangered by Hezbollah militants. He accused the Iranian and Syrian-backed militants of continuing to receive arms shipments from Syria, a claim the Lebanese defense minister has denied.

Ban has criticized both Israel and Lebanon for violating Resolution 1701, noting an increase of Israel Air Force overflights of its northern neighbor in February and early March. Israel says the overflights are necessary in order to gather intelligence on ongoing arms smuggling to Hezbollah.

The UN chief arrived Thursday in Beirut from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he attended a summit of Arab leaders. His tour of the Middle East has already taken him to Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

On Saturday, Ban is to travel to south Lebanon to visit with UN troops near the border with Israel.

Ban also urged rival Lebanese leaders to engage in dialogue as the only way to end a deepening political crisis and approve an international court to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The U.S.-backed Siniora government has been locked in a bitter dispute with the Hezbollah-led opposition seeking to topple it. The opposition is demanding a national unity government that would give it a veto-wielding share in cabinet and has been holding protests and an open sit-in in downtown Beirut since December 1 to pressure Siniora into resigning.

Siniora has staunchly refused, accusing the opposition of staging a coup upon orders from Iran and Syria, Hezbollah's main patrons. Nine people have died in sectarian street violence which erupted on two occasions since December.

Ban encouraged Lebanese leaders to engage in a dialogue to end the political standoff.

"I urged the parties to find a quick solution to this issue while respecting Lebanon's constitutional procedures," he said. "I believe - and everybody believes - that dialogue is the only way for Lebanon to achieve the stability and national unity it aspires for."

While stressing his commitment to the formation of the Hariri tribunal as soon as possible, he said the Lebanese should reach consensus on this issue.

"I urged the parties to find a quick solution to this issue while respecting Lebanon's constitutional procedures," he said.

Ban met later with legislator Saad Hariri, son of the slain leader, to discuss the formation of the international tribunal. Hariri, who heads the anti-Syrian majority in Parliament, said the tribunal was necessary to prevent further killings in Lebanon.

"The failure to punish the criminals is tantamount to giving a killer a license to kill," Hariri told reporters after meeting Ban. "Therefore, the United Nations is seriously following up the issue of the international tribunal."

Anti-Syrian politicians have blamed Syria for a massive truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 other people in February 2005 and for a string of other bomb attacks that targeted anti-Syrian figures. Syria has denied involvement in Hariri's assassination and other attacks.

An agreement between Lebanon and the United Nations has yet to be ratified by Lebanon, stalled in parliament amid sharp differences between the government and the opposition. Ban's comments indicated that the U.N. does not intend for the time being to move to impose a tribunal.

Ban will also meet with a number of pro- and anti-government leaders and representatives, including Hezbollah legislator Mohammed Fneish, who resigned from his cabinet post as electricity minister along with five other pro-Hezbollah ministers in November, setting off the crisis.