UNITED NATIONS - UN chief Kofi Annan, in a report on Lebanon released Tuesday, underscored the need to disarm the Iranian-backed Shiite Hezbollah militia and to reach a just and comprehensive peace in the broader Middle East.

The secretary general said he had been encouraged during his recent Middle East tour by statements made by the various parties, including Iran and Syria trip, and said he expected "their further tangible cooperation."

"No state in the region or elsewhere would tolerate the existence of armed groups which challenge the state's monopoly on the legitimate use of force throughout its territory," Annan, said referring to Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has refused to surrender its weapons as called for by UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which paved the way for the truce that ended the 34-day war between Israel and the Shiite militant group in Lebanon.

Israel launched an offensive against the Iranian-backed militia in July following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah guerrillas in cross-border raids that left eight other troops dead.

Hezbollah has pledged to support Resolution 1701, but warned that it would not disarm until Israel ends its occupation of all Lebanese territory.

Israel forces have been gradually withdrawing from areas they occupied during the war, to be replaced by Lebanese and UN troops. That pullout should be completed in the coming days.

Annan's report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 made it clear that "all forces other than the regular Lebanese Armed forces" must be disarmed."

"At the same time, on the Israeli side, overflights must cease completely," it added.

The UN chief also emphasized the importance of addressing the underlying causes of conflict in the Middle East in order to prevent a resurgence of violence and bloodshed.

"Other crises cannot be ignored, especially in the occupied Palestinian territory, as they are all interlinked," he noted. "Until the international community insists on a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, any one of these conflict has the potential to erupt and engulf the entire region."

On the disputed Shebaa Farms, Annan said he was studying a Lebanese proposal to put the territory under UN jurisdiction until the issue of Lebanese sovereignty over it and the delineation of the Lebanese-Syrian border are fully settled.

"I am now studying carefully the complicated cartographic, legal and political implications of such an approach and will revert to the (Security) Council in due course," he added.

The Shebaa Farms is a small plot of land covering about 20 square kilometers (eight square miles) on the border of Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

It was captured by Israel as part of the Golan Heights, seized from Syria, during the 1967 war, but is now claimed by Lebanon with Damascus's approval.

Israel said Friday it was prepared to discuss the status of the Farms if Beirut disarms Hezbollah and the UN rules the territory is Lebanese.

Annan meanwhile said that UN peacekeeping officials were finalizing plans to deploy a German-led UN naval task force to help Lebanese secure its maritime borders.

A naval task force including British, French, Greek and Italian ships is currently operating off the Lebanese coast until the German-led UN task force takes over.

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