BEIRUT, Lebanon, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- The Lebanese army has confiscated weapons in south Lebanon where it is being assisted by international troops to extend exclusive government control.
Defense Minister Elias Murr said Tuesday the confiscation of illegitimate arms south of the Litani River was in line with Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day war between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel on Aug. 14.
The area south of the Litani River is an 18-mile-deep area stretching between the Blue Line, which divides Lebanon and Israel, and the river.
"Arms have been confiscated by Lebanese troops in the south," Murr said without elaborating or identifying the party whose weapons were seized.
He stressed, however, that the Hezbollah organization was responding well to the army's mission and refraining from any armed manifestation.
The Iranian-backed Shiite group has said it supports the government's decision to arrest any of its gunmen and confiscate his weapons if they are displayed.
Murr said the United States and several European countries will supply the Lebanese army with equipment and arms.
In a related development, seven Turkish army officers arrived in Lebanon ahead of the Turkish battalion taking part in the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, UNIFIL, whose number was increased to 15,000 in line with resolution 1701.
Turkey decided to contribute troops to UNIFIL despite protests by Lebanon's Armenian community, which objects to Turkey's military participation due the Turkish genocide of Armenians in 1915.
