The United Nations expects to finish verifying the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon in the next few days,according to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. "I expect the certification in the next few days," Annan told journalists, adding that the United Nations had already begun the certification task.
A team of UN cartographers started working on the border in conformance with UN resolution 425, the first stage in verification that Israeli troops have returned to the international border. Mr. Annan said he believed things were going quite well, saying that there was calm at the border and that first talks between UN special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen and Lebanese authorities had gone extremely well. He said he had been in contact with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, and the two countries' leaders were co-operating with the United Nations.
Annan has asked the UN Security Council to increase the size of the UN peacekeeping mission in South Lebanon from 4,500 troops to 7,800 soldiers in order to help Lebanon maintain security in the zone vacated by Israel. He said he hoped UN reinforcements could begin moving into Lebanon as soon as the certification process was complete.
