(KUNA) -- The Italian Foreign Ministry on Thursday denied that Hezbollah was boosting its military capacities in the area south of the Litani River controlled by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The UNIFIL military leadership confirms that any potential rearming by Hezbollah is not taking place in that area south of the Litani river till Israel's borders, the Ministry's spokesman Pasquale Ferrara told the media during his weekly briefing.
Commenting on a report by a UN envoy that Hezbollah was rearming, Ferarara said the Italian UNIFIL Commander Claudio Graziano had told the Italian, Spanish and French Foreign Ministers that "the control operation by the UNIFIL on the ground went smoothly characterized by excellent relations with the people." According to the Italian official, the problem is more related to the efficiency and effectiveness of the Lebanese military. Ferrara said the Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1701 did not assign the UNIFIL with the mission of disarming Hezbollah but left it to the Lebanese army.( |