BRUSSELS, Aug. 25 ? After a week of confusion and missteps, Europe pledged to add up to 6,900 troops to the
United Nations peacekeeping force in southern
Lebanon, officials said at an emergency meeting of
European Union foreign ministers here on Friday.
But the officials cautioned that the force would not be used to disarm
Hezbollah. That job, if it is done at all, will be left to the Lebanese government and army.
The international force, joined by Lebanese national soldiers, is the solution that world powers agreed to after a month of fighting between
Israel and Hezbollah, an Islamist militia that dominates southern Lebanon. Israel, in particular, wanted a strong European contingent in the force.
But after the force was agreed to, a number of countries said that the rules of engagement were unclear, and that they feared their troops would end up fighting with either Israel or Hezbollah. Their conflict is partly a local one, over prisoners that each side holds, and the history of Israel?s occupation of the region.
But it is also a result of Hezbollah?s refusal to recognize Israel?s legitimacy, and it is widely viewed as a proxy conflict between the United States and Iran.
The largest contribution to the expanded force came from Italy, which confirmed that it would contribute 3,000 troops and was asked by Secretary General
Kofi Annan to succeed France in command of the force in February. The force seemed unlikely to reach the 15,000-troop level authorized under United Nations Resolution 1701, which ended the fighting in Lebanon. President
Jacques Chirac of France on Friday called the 15,000 figure ?totally excessive.? Currently, there are more than 2,000 United Nations troops in Lebanon.
