Belgian troops arrive in Lebanon to join UN force

BEIRUT, Sep 27 (Reuters) Some 140 Belgian soldiers flew to Beirut today to join a U N peacekeeping force monitoring a truce between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas in south Lebanon.

The Belgian force will wait in the Lebanese capital for the arrival of its equipment by ship before deploying in the south, boosting the number of peacekeepers to around 5,100, Lebanese security sources said.

UN resolution 1701 which ended a 34-day war between Israel and Hizbollah authorised the beefing up of a 2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) by up to 13,000 more troops.

Israeli forces have gradually been pulling out of south Lebanese territory they captured in the fighting that ended on August 14 and Israeli officials had said they hoped to pull all their troops out by last weekend.

Israel has so far handed over around 90 percent of that land to UNIFIL. Israel had said it would complete its pullout when the number of UNIFIL troops reached 5,000.

Israeli and Lebanese officers met with the commander of the UN force at the border on Tuesday to discuss finalising the withdrawal.

Major General Alain Pellegrini said after the meeting that Israeli troops should be out of south Lebanon within days, but Israeli media said a full withdrawal could be delayed after the meeting did not reach full agreement.

REUTERS BDP KP2030