Lebanon Villagers, Peacekeepers Clash

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Spanish peacekeepers policing the Israeli-Hezbollah ceasefire took up combat positions after angry residents confronted them over their presence in a southern Lebanese village, a newspaper reported Thursday.

A spokesman for the peacekeepers said there were no clashes and no one was hurt in the incident Wednesday in Zaoutar, just north of the Litani River.

But the dispute highlighted the tension in southern Lebanon, five months after a U.N.-brokered cease-fire halted 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The Shiite Muslim guerrilla group has warned the peacekeepers about overstepping their mandate.

The 12,000-strong U.N. Interim Force is assisting Lebanese troops in creating a weapons-free buffer zone. Its zone of operations lies to the south of Zaoutar, between the Litani River and the Israeli border, an area some 18 miles at its deepest point.

However on Wednesday, a Spanish UNIFIL unit made up of two Humvee vehicles was in the village when residents noticed the troops taking pictures of the hills and valleys, newspapers reported.

The leading daily An-Nahar said dozens of villagers confronted the peacekeepers and tried to take the cameras. The Spanish troops took up precautionary combat positions.

On Thursday, UNIFIL spokesman Liam McDowall said the Spanish unit was inspecting the roads when "some residents expressed concern" about their presence.

The situation was aggravated by a "complete breakdown of communications" because of the language barrier, but McDowall insisted in an interview there was "absolutely no confrontation and no weapons involved."

He said the UNIFIL does not operate north of the Litani River and that the troops were there to inspect routes that could be used by their vehicles.

UNIFIL deployed in the south in 1978, with little effect as guerrillas fought Israel and Israeli forces twice invaded Lebanon. But since the beefed-up force was sent to the area after the summer war, no shooting incidents have been reported across the international border.