Lebanon to send 15,000 troops to south when Israel pulls out

Lebanon's cabinet, which includes two Hezbollah ministers, decided unanimously on Monday to deploy 15,000 troops in south Lebanon as soon as Israel withdrew its troops from the area, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said after a cabinet session on Monday.

"The government stresses its willingness to send a 15,000- strong Lebanese army force to south Lebanon as Israeli forces pull back behind the Blue Line (border)," the cabinet said in a statement read by Aridi.

The Lebanese army had called up reservists ahead of the planned deployment to the south, where thousands of Israeli troops are fighting Hezbollah guerrillas.

Aridi did not explicitly say whether Hezbollah would pull out of border areas it has been controlling since Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000.

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has said there will be no ceasefire until international forces are deployed in south Lebanon to enforce truce while Hezbollah has vowed to continue fighting as long as Israeli troops remain in Lebanon.

Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora urged the UN Security Council to call for an immediate ceasefire and Israeli troop pullout from south Lebanon.

Speaking at a special Arab foreign ministers meeting in Beirut on Monday, Siniora said that Lebanon would seek help from a boosted UN peacekeeping force in extending the government control to the south of the country.

The meeting decided to send a delegation to the UN headquarters in New York late Monday to press for amendments to the French-U.S. draft resolution to end the Israel-Hezbollah fighting in accordance with Lebanese demand.

Source: Xinhua