The new UN mission in Lebanon is not tasked to disarm Hezbollah, the guerrilla group fighting Israel in south Lebanon, said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Friday.

"The troops are not going in there to disarm (Hezbollah). Let's be clear on that," Annan told reporters after an extraordinary meeting of the European Union (EU) foreign ministers here.

UN Security Council Resolution 1559 asks for disarmament of all militia in Lebanon -- national and non-national. This was reaffirmed in Resolution 1701, said Annan.

"The understanding was that the Lebanese would disarm (Hezbollah). It is also generally accepted that disarmament of Hezbollah cannot be done by force," he said.

There has to be political agreement on this issue between the Lebanese. "There has to be a Lebanese consensus."

He said the disarmament of Hezbollah was part of the national dialogue in Lebanon before the conflict with Israel.

He said if, at some stage, the Lebanese ask the international community for help, the UN would consider. But the UN troops are not deployed to disarm Hezbollah.

On the issue of whether the UN troops would be deployed on the Lebanon-Syria border to stem possible arms provision to Hezbollah, Annan said Resolution 1701 does not require the deployment of UN troops on the border.

"It did indicate, if the Lebanese government were to request, we will assist. The Lebanese government has not made any such request," said Annan.

At the EU foreign ministers' meeting, EU member states have pledged more than half of the forces needed for the UN mission.

"Europe is providing the backbone of the force," said Annan. "I am very, very encouraged by the firm commitments we have received here at this meeting. I was very confident that Europe wanted to assume its responsibilities and show its solidarity with the people of Lebanon."

Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, who chaired the meeting, said EU member states have pledged between 5,600 and 6, 900 new troops for the UN mission in Lebanon.

In addition, EU countries have also pledged naval, air and logistic support for the UN mission.

The ground troops and support staff combined will exceed half of the 15,000 personnel for the mission agreed on by the UN Security Council earlier this month.

EU countries have already ground troops in the current 2,000- strong UN mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL. The new 15,000-strong UN mission is called UNIFIL 2 by Annan.

The new troops will be deployed in three phases, with the first 3,000 to 4,000 troops arriving very quickly, said Annan.

Tuomioja, whose country holds the EU presidency, said the first troops could be deployed in a week.

The UN mission will be put under the command of France until February 2007, when Italy will take over command, said Annan.

A new strategic cell will be established in the UN headquarters in New York, which will be headed by an Italian general, said Annan.

The month-old conflict between Israel and south Lebanon-based Hezbollah ended with a cessation of hostilities on Aug. 14. But a UN mission is designed to translate the cessation of hostilities to a cease-fire and help find a long-term solution in the region.

Source: Xinhua