Qatar pledges to rebuild Lebanese border town devastated in recent war

KUN0058 4 GEN 0208 FRANCE /AFP -NJO4 PPL-QATAR-LEBANON-TOWN Qatar pledges to rebuild Lebanese border town devastated in recent war DOHA, Aug 19 (KUNA) -- The Gulf State of Qatar pledged on Saturday to rebuild the Lebanese border town of Bint Jbeil that largely turned into heaps of ruin as a result of the recent Israeli aggression. The official Qatari news agency said the government decision toward the frontier town was result of the extensive destruction inflicted in it in the recent Israeli aggression. Qatari relief and medical teams have given a hand in hurried humanitarian operations to relieve victims and survivors of the war. The teams took part in search for dead bodies, trapped underneath heaps of wreckage at several villages and towns in the south, while medics helped wounded at makeshift hospitals, one erected in the southern port city of Sidon and the other in the village of Qana. The Qatari teams have been also been helping in re-habilitation of two hospitals in Bin Jbeil and a government hospital in Sidon. Bin Jbeil, originally home for some 30,000 people, was largely battered in the recent attacks and witnessed ferocious fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. Most of its natives have become homeless. In the Lebanese city of Sidon, visiting Qatari Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al-Thani met member of the Lebanese Parliament, Bahia Al-Hariri, sister of the slain premier, Rafic Al-Hariri. Al-Hariri briefed the Qatari official about relief operations and logistical aid given by the Qatari teams, helping victims of the war. He expressed gratitude to her for the facilities given to the Qatari rescuers. She praised the Qatari assistance and affirmed that the Lebanese had aspired to see deployment of the Lebanese Army troops in the south since 1969. The Lebanese Government is deploying some 15,000 troops in the southern region, in line with the UN resolution 1701 that also stipulates cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel and restoration of calm along the border. (end) ams.sm.rk