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On August 17,
2006, the Lebanese troops started deploying south of the Litani River,
according to UNSCR 1701 that ended the fighting between Israel and
Hezbollah. The UNSCR has been anonymously adopted in the UN and was
accepted by the Lebanese government. The army deployment marks the
extension of the Lebanese government sovereignty over the whole country
for the first time since 1969, when a weak Lebanese government
sanctioned Palestinian guerrilla cross-border attacks on Israel.
Lebanon is supposed to deploy 15,000 soldiers in the South. These troops
will be joined eventually by an equal number of international
peacekeepers to patrol the region between the Israeli border and the
Litani River.
Several medias sources reported that residents lined roads, waving red
and white Lebanese flags and throwing rice and flowers to celebrate the
arrival of the Lebanese troops in their regions.
RCPL welcomes this partial deployment across the south of the country,
as it marks a first step toward extending the government control in a
region that has not known formal deployment of the Lebanese troops for
four decades. RCPL believes that the full deployment of the Lebanese
army in the South is the only way to ensure security and stability for
Lebanese civilians. |
