LOC19:26
16:26 GMT
By Mahdi Al-Nemr
ROME, Oct 25 (KUNA) -- The Italian Foreign Ministry on Thursday denied that
Hezbollah was boosting its military capacities in the area south of the Litani
River controlled by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
The UNIFIL military leadership confirms that any potential rearming by
Hezbollah is not taking place in that area south of the Litani river till
Israel's borders, the Ministry's spokesman Pasquale Ferrara told the media
during his weekly briefing.
Commenting on a report by a UN envoy that Hezbollah was rearming, Ferarara
said the Italian UNIFIL Commander Claudio Graziano had told the Italian,
Spanish and French Foreign Ministers that "the control operation by the UNIFIL
on the ground went smoothly characterized by excellent relations with the
people."
According to the Italian official, the problem is more related to the
efficiency and effectiveness of the Lebanese military.
Ferrara said the Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1701 did not assign
the UNIFIL with the mission of disarming Hezbollah but left it to the Lebanese
army.(end)
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