French tanks and soldiers deploy to Lebanese border zone
A column of French UN peacekeepers and military vehicles including four tanks today left to take up position in southern Lebanon on the border zone with Israel.
The 30-strong detachment departed from a rear base near the town of Deir Kifa to a zone currently controlled by Ghanaian peacekeepers around Bent Jbeil, which lies just a few miles from the border with Israel.
“We are gradually deploying in Bent Jbeil where we will take over responsibility for the area from the Ghanaians” from Wednesday, said French military spokesman Col. Jerome Salle.
In all, about 300-400 French troops will be based in the zone, he said.
France leads the expanded UN force that is charged with maintaining the August 14 cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel after a 34-day war and assisting the Lebanese army in re-establishing control over the militants’ southern stronghold.
The French will contribute 2,000 troops to the 15,000-strong UN force. An equal number of Lebanese army troops will also be deployed in the south.
Currently, about 5,000 UN troops and 10,000 Lebanese army soldiers are in the region, and Israel is expected to withdraw its final troops from Lebanon later this week. They are concentrated in a few border strips.
The UN peacekeeping force’s commander will meet with Israeli and Lebanese officers tomorrow to discuss the timetable for the Israeli pullout, said Alexander Ivanko, a spokesman for the UNIFIL force.
