BEIRUT, Lebanon, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- France has engaged troops in Lebanon as part of the enlarged U.N. peacekeeping force on the ground that it is a deterrent force with defined responsibilities.
Defense Minister Michelle Alliot-Marie, on a two-day official visit to Lebanon, told French troops at UNIFIL's headquarters in Naqoura in south Lebanon Monday "France wanted the U.N.-mandated force deploying in Lebanon to be a deterrent and credible force."
Underscoring the "difficulties and dangers that UNIFIL's mission involves," Alliot-Marie said France made sure that orders given to international peacekeepers "be clear and the rules of engagement be solid to enable the force to act effectively and firmly when needed."
The French minister noted that the enlarged UNIFIL has "material and legal capabilities for self-defense."
Alliot-Marie, who held talks with UNIFIL commander Gen. Alain Pellegrini of France, announced her country's determination to support the Lebanese army whose troops will be backed by some 15,000 international forces in extending the Lebanese government's authority over south Lebanon.
French UNIFIL battalions, comprising 2,000 troops and officers, will be deployed in the villages of Bint Jbeil and Bataashit, known to be hotbeds for Hezbollah.
Alliot-Marie expressed hope that Lebanon will recover quickly from the sequels of the month-long war that pitted Israel against Hezbollah inflicting big human losses and heavy material damage on Lebanon, estimated in billions of dollars.
The French minister inspected French troops and inaugurated a steel bridge built by French army engineers in the region of Naameh in south Lebanon. She is scheduled to hold talks on Tuesday with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and her Lebanese counterpart Elias Murr.
France is contributing with other European countries in rebuilding some of the 80 bridges destroyed by Israel during its 34-day onslaught on Lebanon in July and August which was sparked by Hezbollah's kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers.
