French officers, UN experts plan for Lebanon force

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 15 (Reuters) French military officers were headed to the United Nations to begin planning for a peacekeeping force that would support the Lebanese army and take over Israeli positions in a buffer zone, U.N. and French officials said.

A French colonel was expected to arrive late yesterday and a general tomorrow for the beefed up U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, which France is expected to lead.

The U.N. Security Council on Friday authorized up to 15,000 troops for UNIFIL, including the 2,000 already on the ground, after a month-long war between Israel and Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrillas.

At the United Nations, officials were waiting to see which countries would commit troops after the second meeting in three days of some 20 interested nations.

Some countries were waiting for a firm commitment from France after which U.N. officials would define a concept of operations, diplomats said.

''We have no formal, specific commitments from troop contributors, but obviously we're continuing those discussions,'' U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

''As opposed to past situations, we have one leg up in that there is already a U.N. force in south Lebanon,'' Dujarric said.

''We don't face the situation that we faced in other countries where we go in and there is no U.N. infrastructure on the ground.'' The current force, allowed only to monitor and observe, is led by Maj. Gen. Alain Pellegrini, a Frenchman, who Dujarric believes will stay on as commander.

The new force was given a far more robust mandate by the Security Council on Friday, including the right to ''take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces'' as it supports the Lebanese armed forces ''exercise sovereignty over all its territory.'' Several European countries, including Germany and Italy, have expressed interest, but both face domestic opposition.

Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei are also on the list of nations who are considering offering soldiers, U.N. officials said.

But raising 13,000 troops in a short period of time may prove extremely difficult. Dujarric said U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was ''working the phones'' with the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, and others to raise a ''mobile robust force.'' Pellegrini met on Monday with an Israeli general and a Lebanese general at a U.N. position on the border crossing on the Mediterranean coast at Ras Naqoura to discuss the withdrawal of Israeli soldiers and the deployment of the Lebanese army.

As Israeli forces withdraw, an estimated 15,000 Lebanese troops are expected to move into south Lebanon.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said one battalion had left Lebanon after the U.N.-arranged truce took effect. An Israeli army battalion generally includes between 800 and 1,000 troops.

Reuters PDS VP0432