3,500 troops pledged for expanded UN Lebanon force

The United Nations has received pledges of 3,500 troops for an expanded peacekeeping force in Lebanon, but it is unclear whether the soldiers represent the right mix of countries and units that could deploy quickly.

Bangladesh made the largest offer of up to 2,000 troops, but France offered just 200 new troops, a disappointment to some who expected more from the country likely to lead the force.

Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown told a meeting of nearly 50 potential troop-contributing countries that at least 3,500 new troops were needed in south Lebanon within 10 days to expand the 2,000-strong UN force trying to help maintain an uneasy truce between Israel and Hezbollah militants.

“We have it in quantitative terms,” he said after the three-hour closed-door meeting. “But the issue is … which battalions can we get there in the timeline required? Are they the right battalions with the right skills and equipment, and do they represent a multilateral enough group of countries?”

“I don’t want to give you an instant answer. We have got to follow up on this, but the general mood in there was a desire to support and contribute and a full understanding of the urgency of the deadline,” he said.

In his opening speech to the meeting, Malloch Brown warned that “every moment we delay is a moment of risk that the fighting could re-erupt”.

Before the meeting, French President Jacques Chirac announced that France would immediately double its 200-strong contingent already in the UN force to 400.

Chirac also told UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in a phone call that France was prepared to command the strengthened force until February, and was also prepared to keep 1,700 troops mobilised in the region.

“Well, we were disappointed, yes,” Malloch Brown said of the French announcement, adding that he feared it would “cast a shadow” over the meeting but other countries came forward.

He said the UN. Would stay in touch with the French “on what more is possible”.

According to UN diplomats, Bangladesh pledged two mechanised infantry battalions, Indonesia pledges one mechanised battalion and an engineering company, Malaysia pledged one mechanised battalion and Nepal pledged one mechanised battalion.

Battalions range from 600 to 1,000 soldiers, depending on the country.

Yahya Mahmassani, the Arab League’s envoy to the United Nations, said he had been officially informed that Bangladesh would contribute two battalions, totalling between 1,600 and 2,000 troops.

Britain’s UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry announced a “quite substantial” maritime and aviation commitment of six Jaguar aircraft, two AWACS surveillance planes, and one naval frigate.

Britain also offered one of its bases in Cyprus at Akrotiri as a staging point, he said.

Cyprus offered barracks and hospitals in the country, UN diplomats added.

Germany’s UN Ambassador Thomas Matussek said he offered “a rather substantive maritime component which is so encompassing that it could patrol and secure the whole of the Lebanese coast to make sure that weapons or other related materials don’t get into Lebanon”.

Germany also offered customs agents, police and border protection agents to patrol the Syrian border, he said.

The United States is providing planning and logistical support and has experts at UN headquarters determining what is needed, said US deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff.

Denmark pledged two ships for maritime patrol and many other countries said they would study the operational plans for the force and the draft rules of engagement before making any decisions.

They include Italy, Spain, Egypt, Belgium, Morocco, Poland, New Zealand, Turkey, Greece, China and Portugal, UN diplomats said.

Even though the Israeli withdrawal and handover to UN forces has gone well thus far, some potential contributors are believed to be concerned about avoiding confrontation with Hezbollah or being caught in the middle of a future conflict.

Malloch Brown told diplomats from the 49 countries invited to the meeting that details on how the expanded force would operate and the rules of engagement would make clear that “this will be a strong, robust force, equipped and authorised to take all necessary action in its key tasks”.

The UN resolution that led to Monday’s cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah after a brutal 34-day war authorised up to 15,000 UN peacekeepers to help 15,000 Lebanese troops extend their authority throughout south Lebanon, which Hezbollah controls, as Israeli troops withdraw. The aim is to create a buffer zone free of Hezbollah fighters between the Litani River and the UN-drawn border, about 18 miles to the south.

Malloch Brown said the draft rules of engagement called for the use of force to prevent hostile activities in the buffer zone and to resist attempts to prevent the UN force, known as UNIFIL, from discharging its duties.

The rules also allow UNIFIL to use force in assisting the Lebanese government if asked to secure its borders to prevent foreign forces, weapons and ammunition from entering the country, he said.

France and Italy said the peacekeeping mandate – partly written by the French - was not explicit enough, and demanded the UN set clear rules of engagement for troops that would bolster the force.

A key concern is whether the UN force will be called on to disarm Hezbollah fighters, as called for in a September 2004 UN resolution.

“What we said to them was ’look, this is a prudently designed rules of engagement which is non-offensive in character but very much does call on you to robustly use force if it’s necessary,”’ Malloch Brown said.

“The role of this force is not large-scale disarmament of Hezbollah, but rather policing a political agreement where the Lebanese government and Hezbollah have agreed to disarm,” Malloch Brown said.

Italy has said it could quickly send as many as 3,000 soldiers – up from its current contribution of about 50 – but Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi’s office said that he was pushing for explicit ground rules.