WASHINGTON: The Lebanese army began taking charge of security in three southern villages on Monday, the US said, as a deal to secure an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah faced its first test on the ground. The US State Department said operations had started in "pilot zones" in Froun, Srifa and Zawtar Al Gharbiya "in accordance with the Trilateral Framework and under the auspices of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon."
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott described the step as "a direct outcome" of talks held between Israeli and Lebanese delegations in Rome last week, adding that Washington would keep working with both sides "to implement the framework to a successful conclusion."
In exchange, the Lebanese Armed Forces are to assume sole security control of vacated areas and certify that they have been cleared of Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure. The pilot zones are intended to trial the approach in a handful of villages straddling the Litani River before it is extended to other areas. A Lebanese military source said that troops had begun intensifying patrols in several villages adjacent to areas occupied by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, including Froun. — AFP
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