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Unit
ed Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said he is working with
the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to deploy an
armed force in the Middle East to quell the escalation of the
conflict involving Israel, Palestinian militants and Hezbollah
fighters.
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who met with Annan this morning at
the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, said he would
support the UN's goal and that such a force was necessary before
the violence could be stopped.
“The immediate priority is to create the conditions for a
cessation of violence,” Blair told reporters.
“It isn't going to stop now, unless we can create the
situation where there can be a cessation. The only way that's going
to happen is the deployment of an international force that can stop
the bombardment. That is why the input of the United Nations is
extremely important.”
The G8 yesterday issued a declaration condemning
“extremists” who had triggered violence in the Middle
East, calling on Hamas and Hezbollah to cease missile attacks on
Israel and for Israel to limit its retaliation. Israeli artillery
and warplanes struck at 60 targets in Lebanon through the night in
response to a Hezbollah rocket attack on Haifa, Israel's
third-biggest city.
“Several countries here are key members of the Security
Council,” Annan said. “I expect them to work with us.
We are extremely concerned about this situation. We need to find
ways of bringing this to a halt. I appeal to all parties to spare
civilian life and civilian infrastructure.”
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