Annan urges Hizbollah, Israel to stop attacks

ROME, July 26: U N Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged both Hizbollah guerrillas and Israel today to stop their attacks and said the U N Security Council should call for an immediate ceasefire.

Annan, speaking at crisis talks being held in Rome, said initiatives to end the 15-day conflict in Lebanon should be accompanied by a new push for a comprehensive West Asia peace.

''I call on Hizbollah to stop its deliberate targeting of Israeli population centres,'' he said, addressing senior diplomats from the United States, West Asia and Europe.

''I call on Israel to end its bombardments, blockades and ground operations.'' Calling the situation ''horrendous and dangerous'', Annan said any political framework to end the conflict should address issues including prisoners, the delineation of Lebanon's borders and ways to monitor those borders.

An international force would help Lebanon extend its control over its territory, he said.

Annan asked world leaders gathered at the conference, co-chaired by U S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, to urge the U N Security Council to call for an immediate ceasefire.

''A cessation of hostilities, a political framework, the deployment of an international force and agreement on a reconstruction programme would give us the beginnings of a way out of this crisis,'' he said.

For any solution to last, Annan said, there would need to be ''constructive engagement'' from countries in the region including Syria and Iran, which were not invited to the Rome conference.

He also urged broader regional initiatives.

''Looking at this broader picture it is also clear that we need a new push for comprehensive West Asia peace. Without this, we are only buying time until the next explosion,'' he said.

REUTERS