EU to provide 7,000 troops to UN force in Lebanon

[tocqueville]

by Marc Burleigh
17 minutes ago

BRUSSELS (AFP) - European nations pledged up to 7,000 troops to form the core of a beefed-up peacekeeping mission in Lebanon capable of enforcing the fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah, officials said.

The pledges account for more than half the extra soldiers needed to bring the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) up to a maximum mandated strength of 15,000, from its current count 2,000.

UN chief Kofi Annan, speaking after a meeting with foreign ministers of the 25 European Union states, hailed the conference "a success."

"We may have a unique opportunity to transform the cessation of hostilities into a durable ceasefire," he added in Brussels.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060825/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflict_060825174818