UN requires peace mandate to send in troops

THE UN again postponed a meeting of nations that could send peacekeepers to south Lebanon, saying talks about sending troops were pointless before there was progress on peace between Israel and Hezbollah.

Diplomats still claimed substantial progress toward agreement on a peace plan, saying there was general consensus on the elements required for a lasting solution. Those include halting the fighting, disarming Hezbollah, deploying peacekeepers and creating a buffer zone in south Lebanon free of Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops.

“I’m confident that by tomorrow we’ll be in a position to have discussions in the council on a text which actually takes us forward,” Britain’s UN Ambassador Emyr Jones-Parry said.