UN chief calls for disbanding of Hezbollah

The UN secretary general has said that disbanding militias in Lebanon, particularly Hezbollah, is 'of vital importance'.

The UN secretary general has said that disbanding militias in Lebanon, particularly Hezbollah, is 'of vital importance'.

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"The threats posed by the existence of militias outside the control of the State, especially Hezbollah's vast paramilitary infrastructure, cannot be overstated," the UN official website quoted Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as saying.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which brought an end to the war between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon in the summer of 2006, prohibits storing weapons in the security zone between the Litani River and the Blue Line, which is the Lebanese-Israeli border. The area is under the observation of UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

"For this reason, I appeal to all parties, inside and outside of Lebanon, to halt immediately all efforts to transfer or acquire weapons and to build paramilitary capacities outside the authority of the State," he added.

The situation in southern Lebanon became extremely tense in July this year, when an explosion occurred in the security zone near the Lebanese-Israeli border in the town of Khirbat Silim. Israel and the US have said the explosion was set off by a detonator in a Hezbollah weapons store prohibited by the UN Security Council.