In Lebanon, the UN and Hizbullah make unlikely bedfellows

Faced with a new threat from Sunni militants, UN peacekeepers turn to Hizbullah for protection.

from the July 24, 2007 edition

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The growing threat of attack by Sunni radicals apparently spurred the leading European troop-contributing states to seek the Shiite Hizbullah's cooperation. According to UNIFIL sources, intelligence agents from Italy, France, and Spain met with Hizbullah representatives in the southern city of Sidon in April. As a result, some Spanish peacekeepers subsequently were "escorted" on some of their patrols by Hizbullah members in civilian vehicles, the UNIFIL sources say.

A day after the six peacekeepers were killed last month, Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos spoke with Manucher Mottaki, the foreign minister of Iran, Hizbullah's main patron. According to a Hizbullah official in south Lebanon, there has been at least one meeting between the Shiite party and Spanish UNIFIL officers since the bombing.

UNIFIL has long had quiet channels of communication with Hizbullah stretching back to the late 1980s, a recognition of the Shiite group's clout in the south. But UNIFIL commander General Graziano says that although troop-contributing governments may talk to Hizbullah, the peacekeeping battalions are only authorized to liaise with the Lebanese Army. Contacts with Hizbullah or any other Lebanese political party is not permitted, he says.

"I highly forbid any relation that is not authorized by this headquarters for any contingent that is dressed in the blue beret to have contact with any party without my authorization," he says.

Although there was no claim of responsibility for last month's attack on the Spanish battalion, Al Qaeda's Mr. Zawahiri, in a taped message released three weeks ago, praised what he called the "blessed operation" and criticized Hizbullah for cooperating with UNIFIL, heightening speculation that the bombing was the work of militant Sunnis.

That devastating bomb attack has led UNIFIL to tighten its security, which has meant fewer stops for coffee with local Lebanese while on patrol. The growing inability to mix with southern Lebanese – one of the force's most important tactics – could become the most significant effect of the bombings, analysts say.

"It risks becoming a force where force protection becomes supreme, keeping troops safe and driving around as little as possible and behind armor," says Timur Goksel, a Beirut-based conflict resolution expert who served in UNIFIL from 1979 to 2003. "I know [UNIFIL command] is aware of this problem, but what can they do?"

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