Beirut (AsiaNews) - Tension in southern Lebanon between peacekeepers and local villagers, where Hezbollah is largely predominant, show no sign of abating. Patrols of soldiers of the United Nations (UNIFIL) were attacked and disarmed. France has requested a meeting of the Security Council later this evening to examine the matter, the Lebanese government "regrets" the incident and the commander of UNIFIL, Spanish General Asarta Cuevas, has sent an open letter to the inhabitants of the region which reaffirms the "close cooperation" between the Lebanese army and UN troops, deployed for “your peace and security".

The issue is complex and controversial. Western diplomats resident in Beirut unofficially accuse Hezbollah of coercing local residents to block the action of blue helmets in implementing resolution 1701.  Among other things, the resolution states that it is their duty to prevent the accumulation of weapons and contraband by "groups" other than the Lebanese army, namely Hezbollah, which certainly does not appreciate this.

Hezbollah, for its part, accuses the current UNIFIL management of not respecting an unwritten agreement according to which some villages, particularly those involved in the 2006 war, were not subject to inspections and instead of seeking, ultimately, to disarm its men. "Instead of defending us, they seem to want to defend Israel," is the accusation that followed a recent UNIFIL exercise, which seemed to suggest the possibility of rocket attacks from Lebanon into Israel.

The Lebanese Government, despite its caution, and the same president, Michel Suleiman, stressed their desire for collaboration between UN peacekeepers and the military.  The UN however has accused the Lebanese military of not having deployed the promised 15 thousand troops in the south of the country as outlined by 1701.

Beirut, however, has little room to manoeuvre, since it is a coalition government that includes Hezbollah. So, yesterday, in the Council of Ministers, one of the Hezbollah men, Mohammad Fneich, blocked the proposal of the Social Affairs Officer, Selim Sayegh, to open an investigation into what happened.

So the situation remains tense with the Lebanese government confirming its support of 1701, but reiterating the need for "coordination between the Lebanese army and UNIFIL," the general commander of UN peacekeepers who reaffirms the right of his troops to have "freedom of movement” and Hezbollah, in essence, wanting the UN patrols not to search for weapons depots or sites for rocket launches. And not to ask too many questions either (PD)