UN postpones meeting to plan new Lebanon force

UNITED NATIONS, July 31 (Reuters) The United Nations on today indefinitely postponed a meeting called by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to begin plannin a new international peacekeeping force for Lebanon.

A UN official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the meeting, which had been scheduled for today afternoon, had been delayed ''until there is more political clarity'' on the path ahead in the West Asia conflict.

Organizers hoped to reschedule the meeting later in the week, but the timing remained uncertain.

Separately, the council was poised to approve later on today a 30-day extension of the mandate of the existing peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, the 2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL.

Council members said the short-term extension would give them more time to work on the outlines of a new force.

UNIFIL has been in the area since 1978 but has been unsuccessful in preventing cross-border violence between Israeli forces and Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrillas.

Annan had announced the meeting of potential troop-contributing countries last Friday, saying the time had come for the international community to help the warring sides and civilians caught in the middle.

Annan had said from the start the discussions would be preliminary because the Security Council has not yet set out a mandate for the international force, defining what the troops would be asked to do.

Major powers have said a force could not be deployed while fighting continued and without the consent of Israel, Lebanon and the Hizbollah organization.

The force would aim to implement a peace plan that has yet to be outlined by the 15-nation council. Only after the council has approved a mandate for the new force will countries actually decide whether they to participate.

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