Forty-five countries attended initial technical meetings for potential troop
contributors, and the UN is hoping there will be announcements of troop
commitments at a formal meeting on Thursday.
A senior UN official said there appear to be a number of reasons for the
absence of any troop commitments.
France, which is expected to lead the force, has not yet made an announcement
though it has sent a colonel to New York to discuss the shape and size of the
expanded U.N. force, known as UNIFIL. France also sent a five-man military
engineering team to Lebanon to evaluate the state of roads in the south and
determine what Lebanese troops need to deploy there, the French Foreign Ministry
said.
U.N. officials and diplomats said questions about the mandate for the force
and whether it would be required to disarm Hezbollah fighters were also holding
up troop commitments.
"We will be very happy if France agrees to provide a significant contribution
that will provide the backbone of the force," Annabi said.
At Thursday's meeting, potential troop contributors will be given drafts of
the rules of engagement for the force. The rules include using "forceful means"
against anyone trying to prevent the UN peacekeepers from doing their job, the
senior UN official said.
The U.N. officials and diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the
meetings and planning are private.
While the foreign ministers of France, Turkey, Pakistan and Malaysia were
expected in Beirut on Wednesday, mostly likely to work out details of assembling
the 15,000-strong UN force, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was heading to
New York.
She is expected to meet Secretary-General Kofi Annan to discuss the
importance to Israel of a speedy deployment of the UN force, Foreign Ministry
spokesman Mark Regev said.
Israel wants to ensure that a Hezbollah-free zone is created quickly in the
south, and "to make sure that the international arms embargo on Hezbollah is
implemented," he said.
Once the Lebanese army controls the south and all Israeli troops have pulled
out, the government will then need to implement a September 2004 resolution
calling for the disarmament of all militias, including Hezbollah, the senior UN
official said.
The Lebanese government is supposed to do the main job, with support from
UNIFIL, but some countries including France have made clear they will not disarm
Hezbollah fighters.
Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has said he was open to dialogue
about Hezbollah's weapons at the appropriate time, but suggested Monday that
some Lebanese politicians were rushing to disarm the militant group.
