UN hopes for 3,500 troops in Lebanon within 15 days

United Nations, Aug 15: The United Nations hopes an advance contingent of some 3,500 peacekeeping troops can be deployed to southern Lebanon in 10-15 days, a senior UN official said today.

''We would like to see 3,000 to 3,500 troops within 10 days to two weeks,'' Hedi Annabi, an assistant secretary-general for UN peacekeeping operations told reporters.

But a senior official, briefing journalists, said much depended on whether France would contribute a significant number of troops and become the backbone of the force.

''The French would like to know what others are doing and the other (countries) would like to know what France is doing,'' said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The UN Security Council last Friday adopted a resolution authorizing up to 15,000 U.N. troops in Lebanon to help enforce an end to fighting and aid the Lebanese army in setting up a buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

French military officers are meeting with peacekeeping officials on Wednesday to discuss how the mandate, set down by the Security Council, would be implemented in practice.

''We have no formal, specific commitments from troop contributors yet,'' UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Reuters