UN's Roed-Larsen: Lebanon situation 'vulnerable'

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A top UN envoy said Tuesday that the security situation in Lebanon would remain "vulnerable" for two to three months as the Lebanese army deployed along the Israeli border and a beefed-up UN force arrived to assist it. However, European nations were balking at sending large numbers of peacekeepers to southern Lebanon, and Israel objected to the inclusion of troops from nations that don't recognize it. "Our estimation is that for the next two to three months, there is huge vulnerabilities in Lebanon," UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said Tuesday during a visit to Jerusalem "Until the Lebanese force is completely deployed and has asserted its full authority and until there is a robust peacekeeping force there and the necessary cooperation is established, there will be up to a point a security vacuum," he told The Associated Press. Roed-Larsen urged the rapid deployment of the foreign forces to prevent the collapse of the fragile cease-fire, which took effect last week. "This has to happen as fast as possible because those who do not want the government of Lebanon to take control over the territory, of course for them there will be temptations as long as there is a security vacuum," he said.