UN urges immediate end to Lebanon fighting [video report]

Annan accused Israel of 'excessive use of force'. Picture / Reuters

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called for an immediate end to the fighting between Israel and Hizbollah and proposed sending an international force to bolster the Lebanese army.

In a speech to the UN Security Council early this morning NZ time, Mr Annan said an international force could help the army fully deploy along Lebanon's border with Israel, where Hizbollah fighters now have de facto control.

Hizbollah's actions "hold an entire nation hostage" by abducting Israeli soldiers and firing rockets into Israel, he said.

Annan condemned Israel for using excessive force in Lebanon, which he said weakened the Beirut government, killed innocent people and wrecked the country.

But Israeli UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman said Israel would not stop fighting until it had achieved its goals.

"We have no timeline," Gillerman said. "Diplomacy can take off only after terror has been taken care of." He scolded Annan for not mentioning the role of Syria or Iran in the crisis.

Kofi Annan said the two Israeli soldiers captured by Hizbollah on July 12 should be transferred to the Beirut government under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross, with a view to their return to Israel and a cease-fire.

Annan later was to brief US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the findings of a UN mission sent to the region last weekend.

He said a quick end to the fighting would allow aid workers to reach those in need and would "give diplomacy the chance to work out a practical package of actions that would provide a lasting solution to the current crisis."

The three-member UN team just back from the region concluded the time was not ripe for a sustainable cease-fire. Instead, a temporary cessation of hostilities was called for, Annan said.

It was clear the Lebanese government had no advance knowledge of the July 12 Hizbollah attack in which guerrillas entered Israel to capture two Israeli solders, he said.

While Hizbollah says it aims to defend Palestinian and Lebanese interests, it has in fact set back the negotiation of a comprehensive Middle East peace, Annan said.

While acknowledging Israel's right to self-defence, he accused the Jewish state of "excessive use of force."

"Whatever damage Israel's operations may be doing to Hizbollah's military capabilities, they are doing little or nothing to decrease popular support for Hizbollah in Lebanon or the region, but are doing a great deal to weaken the government of Lebanon," Annan said.

"Israel has confirmed that its operation in Lebanon has wider and more far-reaching goals than the return of its captured soldiers, and that its aim is to end the threat posed by Hizbollah," Annan said.

Lebanese Foreign Ministry official Nouhad Mahmoud praised Annan's remarks as "the voice of reason in his call for a cessation of hostilities and the urgency of humanitarian aid to the suffering of the people of Lebanon."

US Ambassador John Bolton said he could not see how a government could reach an agreement with a "terrorist group" such as Hizbollah.

Bolton said a Syrian government decision to bar veteran UN Middle East envoy Terje Roed Larsen from travelling to Damascus was frustrating the Security Council's efforts to get a complete picture of the crisis in order to help resolve it.

"Now we see more clearly the role Syria has been playing in frustrating efforts to bring this to a conclusion," Bolton said.

- REUTERS