UN: Israel violated ceasefire
2006-08-20 08:12
New York - Israel has violated the terms of a UN-mandated halt to fighting in Lebanon, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Saturday, calling on all parties to respect an embargo on unauthorized arms shipments to Lebanon.
"The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about a violation by the Israeli side of the cessation of hostilities as laid out in Security Council resolution 1701," a statement issued by Annan's spokesperson said.
"The incident involved an Israeli raid in eastern Lebanon on Saturday. According to Unifil, there have also been several air violations by Israeli military aircraft," it said.
"All such violations of Security Council Resolution 1701 endanger the fragile calm that was reached after much negotiation and undermine the authority of the government of Lebanon."
Annan discussed the matter with Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora on Saturday, the UN chief's spokesperson said.
Israeli commandos mounted a deadly raid deep inside Lebanon Saturday in the biggest challenge yet to the six-day-old ceasefire that brought a halt to a month of devastating conflict. Israel said the raid was aimed at blocking weapons shipments to the Shiite militia Hezbollah from Iran and Syria.
Lebanon warned it might suspend its troop deployment to Hezbollah's stronghold in the south if the UN failed to ensure Israel honoured the UN resolution.
Annan has requested daily reports of compliance with the ceasefire to be provided to the Security Council, according to his spokesman.
"The Secretary-General further calls on all parties to respect strictly the arms embargo, exercise maximum restraint, avoid provocative actions and display responsibility in implementing resolution 1701," the statement read.
The UN Security Council resolution was unanimously approved August 11 after the fighting between Israel and the Shiite militia Hezbollah based in Lebanon had killed almost 1 450 people, mostly Lebanese civilians, according to an AFP tally.
- AFP