U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission to the United Nations, Anne Peterson, has said that it is about time for the Lebanese national army to take control of the border with Israel. She added that talks are underway in the Security Council to reduce the number of the multinational peacekeeping forces stationed in Lebanon as a prelude to withdrawing them, the London-based international daily Al Hayat reported Friday.

Peterson revealed plans to train the national army to take over security responsibilities along the uneasy border with the Jewish state. In an interview with the paper, Peterson considered the latest tension flare up along the border, which was the result of attacks and counter attacks between Hizbullah and Israel as "frightening." She said that the latest outbreak proved that the Party of God acted in a provocative manner. Two weeks ago, Hizbullah guerrillas struck Israeli army posts, killing an Israeli soldier in an attack that drew air raids from the Jewish state. Warplanes bombed the outskirts of two south Lebanese border villages.

"The main reason behind the incident is that the Lebanese army is not deployed to the entire south Lebanon. They (Lebanese authorities) are depending on the UN interim forces (UNIFIL). We have to discuss this issue carefully as the UNIFIL mandate is about to end this month," Peterson was quoted as saying. "We have never pressured the Lebanese government to deploy its army to the south. Now the situation is different. Before there were Syrian forces inside Lebanon...Everything will occur within the framework of ensuring Lebanon's sovereignty," Peterson added. Commenting on UNIFIL's mandate, Peterson said, "We are not going to pull them out at once. We will do that in phases. We might reduce its number. The Lebanese have to play a bigger role in that stage. They now have a government and are able to play a major role (with respect to spreading their control over the south)."

Lebanon is expected to submit a report to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan demanding the extension of the mandate of the UN force in south Lebanon for another six months, starting in August. (See MER 30/6/05) The 15-nation Security Council had unanimously adopted a resolution in August 2004 renewing the mandate of the 2,000-strong force through January 2005 for another six months. The mandate of the 26-year-old UN Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, which monitors the troubled UN-drawn frontier between northern Israel and southern Lebanon, dubbed the Blue Line, is expected to end by July 31.

Hizbullah was instrumental in ending Israel's 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000. The two foes have clashed sporadically in the Shabaa Farms since. The United Nations says Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon is complete and that the Shabaa Farms is Israeli-occupied Syrian land. Lebanon and Syria say the area is part of Lebanese territory. Hizbullah is keen on maintaining its weapons on the grounds that Lebanon still needs an armed resistance force to protect it from Israel.

According to Al Hayat, Peterson admitted that dealing with the issue of Hizbullah's arms "is very, very hard." Hizbullah is currently under international pressure to disarm in line with UN resolution 1559, which was passed last September at the behest of the U.S. and France. "There is an overwhelming consensus on resolution 1559 at the Security Council. The next steps will be decided after special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen submits his report to the council in October," Peterson said.

Speaking of the investigation into the February 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in a massive explosion in Beirut, Peterson revealed plans to increase the funding of the UN commission of inquiry into the murder, and extend its mandate for another three months.

The paper said Peterson referred to negotiations currently underway among governments aimed at imposing a "military constraint on those who are providing arms to militant groups."