Lebanon ceasefire - Deployment of UN troops must be swift

THE United Nations-backed ceasefire which began in Lebanon yesterday represents just a faltering step towards trying to eventually end this conflict, which has already lasted a month and claimed the lives of 1,100 Lebanese and 156 Israelis.

It is a temporary and uneasy truce, and while both Lebanon and Israel have accepted the UN-brokered ceasefire, it is a measure which is conditional upon the deployment in that country of an international peacekeeping force. It is imperative that this force be dispatched there sooner rather than later because it is obvious that both Israel and Hezbollah are still on a war footing, and a spark could re-ignite the tinderbox that is southern Lebanon.

As part of the fragile ceasefire, 15,000 Lebanese troops supported by an international force of equal strength are to maintain peace in Lebanon.