U.N. says arms still going from Syria to Lebanon

UNITED NATIONS – Palestinian militants in Lebanon are getting more weapons from Syria, one reason why the Lebanese government has made no significant progress in disbanding and disarming militias that operate with impunity inside its borders, a U.N. report said Wednesday.

The report said that despite some positive steps, Lebanon still has not achieved full “sovereignty and political independence” more than six months after Syria withdrew its troops and intelligence apparatus from its neighbor after a 29-year presence.

That conclusion could be a powerful tool for the United States, France and Britain, which have proposed a Security Council resolution that threatens sanctions if Syria doesn’t cooperate with a separate probe into the assassination of Lebanon’s former prime minister.

The council discussed the resolution for the first time in a meeting late Wednesday. Diplomats reaffirmed that they hope the foreign ministers of the 15-nation council will adopt the draft in a meeting Monday, but stressed it was still early and differences remain. China and Russia in particular could oppose sanctions.

“When a rocket is launched, as it picks up speed and moves down range it goes through a period of aerodynamic turbulence much like Security Council resolutions,” U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said. “We’re now in the period of aerodynamic turbulence.”

In the report to the council, Secretary-General Kofi Annan highlighted the difficulties controlling the Lebanon-Syria border and reports of “an increasing influx of weaponry and personnel from Syria” to some militia groups in Lebanon.

“The government of Syria has informed me that smuggling of arms and people across the Syrian-Lebanese border does indeed take place, albeit in both directions,” he said.

The report was assessing the implementation of Security Council resolution 1559, which called for Syria to withdraw all military forces and intelligence operatives as well as the disarmament of all militias in Lebanon.