UN sees engagement rules soon for Lebanon force

BEIRUT, Aug 20 (Reuters) Rules of engagement for UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon could come out in the next few days and once finalised should encourage governments to contribute troops to the force, a UN envoy said today.

So far, few countries have made significant commitments to the UN force. Some have complained that the rules of engagement under which their soldiers would operate are ill-defined.

''The rules of engagement have been almost finalised,'' said Vijay Nambiar, special adviser to the UN secretary general, during a visit to Beirut. ''The finalised details perhaps will come out in the next few days.

''And we expect that that will generate interest among the major troop contributing countries to commit troops in more concrete terms,'' Nambiar told reporters.

The UN Security Council resolution to end the conflict between Hizbollah and Israel authorises the enforcement of a ceasefire by the deployment of as many as 13,000 more peacekeepers to bolster 2,000 already in Lebanon.

France has disappointed Washington and the United Nations, which hoped it would lead the enlarged UNIFIL peacekeeping force, by pledging to send only 200 extra troops to Lebanon.

French President Jacques Chirac spoke to leaders of several countries, including Italy and Finland, yesterday to stress the need for a clearer mandate for the force.

Senior UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen, visiting Lebanon with Nambiar, said an Israeli raid on Hizbollah guerrillas in eastern Lebanon yesterday would not encourage governments to contribute troops.

''It will not give incentives ... for troop contributors to come forward,'' Larsen said.

The United Nations condemned the raid as a breach of the UN resolution which brought the 34-day war to an end.

The Lebanese government, which includes two Hizbollah ministers, is sending thousands of troops to south Lebanon -- an area controlled by the Shi'ite Muslim group.

''We have learnt that there has been deployed now 3,000 soldiers in the south and that the goal is to reach a number of 16,000,'' Larsen said after meeting Lebanese officials.

Hizbollah has promised to cooperate with Lebanese and UN forces but has made clear it will keep its weapons.

Larsen said 2,000 soldiers had been deployed along the eastern border and the government aimed to boost that to 8,600.

''This fact that Lebanon is now forcefully establishing its authority will contribute to pave the way for troop contributors to come forward to a reconfigured and beefed up UNIFIL,'' Larsen said.

Reuters BDP GC2338