U N rights head sees possible West Asia war crimes

GENEVA, July 19 (Reuters) United Nations human rights chief Louise Arbour today said the scale of killing in Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories could involve war crimes.

Expressing grave concern at the killing and maiming of civilians in the region, the U N High Commissioner for Human Rights said international humanitarian law was clear on the need to protect non-combatants.

''This obligation is also expressed in international criminal law, which defines war crimes and crimes against humanity,'' she said in a statement.

''The scale of the killings in the region, and their predictability, could engage the personal criminal responsibility of those involved, particularly those in a position of command and control,'' she said without pointing the finger at anyone in particular.

Arbour, a former Canadian Supreme Court judge and war crimes prosecutor, said the ''indiscriminate shelling'' of cities and the bombing of sites where innocent civilians would inevitably suffer were both unacceptable.

Today, Israeli air strikes on Lebanon killed 57 civilians and a Hizbollah fighter, the deadliest toll of the eight-day-old war, as thousands of villagers fled north and more foreigners were evacuated.

Hizbollah rockets killed two children in the northern city of Nazareth, medics said. More Hizbollah rockets fell on the city of Haifa and one hit an empty seafront restaurant.

Israel says the bombardment would last as long as it takes to free two soldiers captured by Hizbollah guerrillas on July 12 and ensure the Shi'ite Muslim group is disarmed.

Its offensive in Lebanon has coincided with a three-week-old push into the Gaza Strip to retrieve another soldier, seized by Palestinian militants on June 25.

REUTERS PKS HT2325