German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday that there was an urgent
need for more UN troops to be deployed in south Lebanon, but reaffirming that
Germany would not send ground troops itself.
It was vital to send additional international troops to south Lebanon, Merkel
told a press conference. But she stressed that the UN needed clear rules of
deployment and the Lebanese government should allow the troops in.
"This past weekend showed how fragile the ceasefire is," Merkel said,
referring to the conflict on Friday despite a ceasefire.
Israeli drones and warplanes on Friday night launched airstrikes in east
Lebanon near the Hezbollah stronghold of Baalbek, the major city in the Bekaa
Valley.
Meanwhile, Merkel also called for new efforts to resolve the region's deeper
political problems and to launch the peace processfor resolving the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
