UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- The U.N. envoy seeking withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon has ended his visit to the region with talks with the country's religious leaders.
Terje Roed-Larsen returned to Beirut Thursday night after a one-day visit to Syria for talks with President Bashar Al-Assad. He met Friday with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, said a spokeswoman at U.N. World Headquartrs in New York. The patriarch is an avid supporter of Security Council resolution 1559, which calls for the end to foreign troops in Lebanon, although it does not refer to Syria by name.
Roed-Larsen, whose job is to oversee implementation of the measure, met separately with Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani and Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, vice-president of the Higher Shiite Council, said the spokeswoman, Marie Okabe.
The U.N. envoy briefed them on the objectives of his mission. The resolution, adopted before last year's elections in Lebanon, calls for withdrawal of all remaining foreign forces, the disbanding of all militias and the extension of government control over the entire country.
