Rice calls for urgent ceasefire
2006-07-24 12:52
Beirut - US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice arrived in Beirut on Monday,
calling for an urgent ceasefire in the Lebanon conflict even as
Israeli troops were locked in deadly combat with Hezbollah.
Two soldiers were reported killed in clashes with Hezbollah
militants as Israeli tanks, bulldozers and armoured personnel
carriers pushed even deeper into Lebanon, heading towards a main
border town after taking a strategic hilltop village.
Security sources said an army helicopter crashed in Israel near
the border with Lebanon in northern Galilee. There were no reports
of any casualties.
Seventeen other soldiers were injured in the clashes in the
border area near the village of Marun al-Ras, which was seized by
Israeli forces at the weekend.
Israeli troops and tanks rolled past the village on Monday,
moving on a three-kilometre road leading to Bint Jbeil,
the largest town in the border zone and a Hezbollah stronghold,
police in Lebanon said.
'A ceasefire is urgent'
Rice made the surprise visit to Beirut before heading to Israel.
The visit came as Washington appeared increasingly estranged
from European and Arab allies over a conflict now in its 13th day
that has killed close to 400 people and set off a major
humanitarian crisis as thousands of foreigners and Lebanese flee.
At least 363 people have been killed in Lebanon, along with 37
confirmed Israelis, in the deadliest cross-border conflict since
the Jewish state invaded its northern neighbour in 1982, triggering
accusations that it was using excessive force to stop Hezbollah.
"We believe that a ceasefire is urgent," Rice told reporters en
route to the region, where she is also due to hold talks with
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and then Palestinian leader
Mahmud Abbas.
"It is however important to have conditions that make it
sustainable."
Peacekeeping force
Israeli leaders, while warning the offensive could last for some
time, have suggested they would accept some form of international
peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.
Washington has come under increasing pressure for bold action
amid criticism it is stalling to allow Israel time to attempt to
wipe out Hezbollah, which set off the conflict after seizing two
Israeli soldiers on July 12.