WASHINGTON - Lebanon's government should disarm the militant Islamic party Hezbollah, a US diplomat said Thursday while denouncing Syria's interference in Lebanese domestic affairs.

"The Lebanese army should deploy to the whole country and particularly to the south," US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch told Congress.

Welch said Washington "expects Lebanon to meet its international obligations," and that this included a move to "disarm Hezbollah and other armed groups, including armed Palestinian groups."

"Until that happens, Hezbollah represents a continuing threat to US citizens," the official said in testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The US government classifies Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, but the new Lebanese government of prime minister-designate Fuad Siniora has included a Hezbollah member, Mohammed Fneish, in the cabinet for the first time.

Fneish holds the energy portfolio.

Welch also criticized Syria for interfering in Lebanon's political affairs.

"We remain deeply disturbed by the continuing role of Syria in Lebanon," he told lawmakers, citing a "campaign of intimidation and violence."

Hezbollah was founded in 1982 to oppose Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon. It has been accused of conducting a campaign of bombings and kidnappings.

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