The chief of United Nations peacekeeping forces, Alain Le Roy, has told the Security Council that a series of explosions in southern Lebanon on July 14 most likely came from an illegal Hezbollah arms cache. He gave a speech behind closed doors on Thursday, and reporters obtained copies on Friday. Mr. Le Roy, left, said there were “a number of indications” that the ordnance was Hezbollah’s, including reports from the Lebanese Army that the civilians who rioted to prevent United Nations peacekeepers from investigating were Hezbollah supporters. The cache included mortars, AK-47s, artillery shells and 122-millimeter rockets. Mr. Le Roy said the weapons were a “serious violation” of the Security Council resolution that ended the 34-day Israel-Lebanon war in 2006.
Hizballah has blamed the blast on a previously unexploded cluster bomb dropped by Israel in the 2006 War.
Meanwhile, alleged Hizballah militants are facing terrorism charges in Egypt. Hizballah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah admitted that one of those arrested was a Hizballah agent, but dismissed the charges stating that the whole operation was to smuggle weapons into Gaza and not to commit acts of terrorism.
