Lebanon's government should play a role to bring peace to the nation which has been crippled by violence between Israel and Hezbollah, said the chief of a United Nations delegation in Beirut on Monday. The head of the delegation, Vijay Nambier, spoke with Lebanon's parliament speaker and prime minister, and said more diplomacy is needed to come up with a solution to the conflict, which has entered its sixth day.
The Lebanese government was marginalized by the Hezbollah decision to unilaterally begin this latest round in the conflict. And many fear that any Lebanese government effort to stop Hezbollah would result in the Lebanese military splintering, bringing another Lebanese Civil War. So, with these comments, the UN is apparently trying to give the Lebanese government a place at the table.
Nambier issued assurances that strides have been made to address the hostilities, where the number of dead in Lebanon and Israel is approaching 200 -- 165 in Lebanon and 24 in Israel. "We have made many efforts to improve the situation, and our teams have discussed these issues with the Lebanese government, and we will continue to discuss these suggestions and ideas, and we will come back to Lebanon to develop and explore these ideas further," Nambier said. |