Lebanese soldiers die clearing Israeli shells (Reuters)

[laststeamtrain]

Lebanese soldiers die clearing Israeli shells

By Laila Bassam

Three Lebanese soldiers were killed on Wednesday while clearing unexploded Israeli shells in southern Lebanon, underscoring the dangers of a region awaiting the deployment of thousands of U.N. peacekeepers.

The three men were the first Lebanese troops to die since the army began moving south last Thursday to bolster a U.N.-backed truce that halted a 34-day war between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas.

The Lebanese are due to send around 15,000 soldiers to the area to work alongside a similar number of U.N. troops.

Some 2,000 U.N. soldiers already serve in Lebanon with a force called UNIFIL but recruiting another 13,000 has proved difficult, with few nations ready to provide big contingents.

European Union envoys were meeting in Brussels to discuss the EU contribution, which has so far centered on Italy's promise to send 2,000 to 3,000 troops -- about a third of the total envisaged European contingent.

EU help is seen as vital if the United Nations is to get an advance party of 3,500 troops on the ground by September 2 as planned. The bloc's foreign ministers are scheduled to meet on Friday with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is then expected to fly on to the Middle East.

If and when the extra U.N. troops arrive, they will find a landscape littered with unexploded Israeli ordnance.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060823/ts_nm/mideast_dc_299

[Spazito]

1. One correction....

"If and when the extra U.N. troops arrive, they will find a landscape littered with unexploded Israeli ordnance."

It should say "U.S. ordnance fired by Israel".

[w4rma]

5. and made in China. (nt)

[Bozita]

2. War deaths don't stop occuring because of a cease fire

Ask the Vietnamese.

[Tempest]

3. Can Israel be sued and made to pay for the cleaning up of the ordinance?

Are there any international laws regarding this?

[breakaleg]

4. I don't know but they should be responsible for cleaning the areas,

afterall, they are the ones who put them there.