UN says Lebanon force now numbers 5,000

The number of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon has grown to a level that the UN sees as sufficient for Israel to complete its pullot…

The number of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon has grown to a level that the UN sees as sufficient for Israel to complete its pullot from Lebanon, a Unifil spokesman said.

Alexander Ivanko said the force numbered 4,950. "We're there. We consider it to be 5,000," he added.

Mr Ivanko said some French troops were still heading south from Beirut, but Italian and Spanish forces have already joined some 2,000 Unifil troops in position since before the 34-day war that ended last month.

The reinforcements will help maintain the August 14th truce that halted the war between Israel and Hizbullah guerrillas.

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Israel's military chief of staff was quoted as saying his army will complete a pullout from Lebanon within a few days. Israel says it has already left more than 80 per cent of land it seized, leaving it to UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army.

Israel went to war after Hizbullah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in a July 12th cross-border raid.

Nearly 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis were killed in the conflict.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said Israel should be able to complete its withdrawal once 5,000 peacekeepers were on the ground to support more than 10,000 Lebanese troops a UN source said have already deployed in the south.

Israel says the Syrian border is a major gap in the enforcement of an international arms embargo stipulated by the August 14th resolution to prevent Hizbullah rearming.