UN slams Israel cluster bombs
2006-08-31 14:50
Shuneh - UN chief Kofi Annan on Thursday lambasted Israel for using cluster bombs during the war in Lebanon, on the latest leg of a mission to shore up a fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah.
"Those kinds of weapons shouldn't be used in civilian and populated areas... and (we need to) move very quickly to disarm them," Annan said in Jordan, before heading off to Syria, the main backer of Hezbollah along with Iran.
'Completely immoral'
Annan echoed criticism of Israeli military tactics by UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland, who said Israel dropped hundreds of cluster bombs in the final days of the month-long conflict before a ceasefire took effect August 14.
"What's shocking, and I would say completely immoral, is that 90% of the cluster bomb strikes occurred in the last 72 hours of the conflict when we knew there would be a resolution, when we knew there would be an end," Egeland said.
Aid for Lebanon
As Annan continued his mission, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora appealed to international donors gathered in Sweden to do everything they could to help his country rebuild following the devastating Israeli offensive, putting the damage at billions of dollars.
In Israel, Annan had tried but failed to persuade the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to lift its punishing blockade on Lebanon which remains in place despite the truce, hampering hopes of recovery.
Iran
From Jordan, Annan heads to Syria where he will face a regime that has taken a hard line against the UN resolution which ended the 34-day war but whose stance is critical to the success of the ceasefire and the deployment of a beefed-up UN force.
President Bashar al-Assad, who is due to meet Annan on Friday, last week warned that any deployment of international troops along its border would be viewed as "hostile" and one official threatened to close the frontier.
UN security council resolution 1701 calls for a strengthened international force in south Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army there, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Secure borders
It also calls on Lebanon to secure its borders to prevent entry into the country of arms without its consent, asking the enlarged United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to help in that task if requested.
Israel, the United States and other Western powers accuse Syria of acting as a conduit for arms shipments to Hezbollah from its other key backer, Iran, a charge Damascus denies.
- AFP