By Mark Turner at theUnited Nations, The United Nations has called on the Lebanese government to explain allegations that the Lebanese army aided the transfer of weapons from Syria to Hizbollah, the Iranian-backed militant Islamic group.A UN Security Council resolution, adopted in 2004, called for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon and the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias.
UN officials have warned for some time that weapons and personnel are flowing from Syria to militia in Lebanon, but the issue had taken a relative back-seat during an international investigation into last year’s murder of Rafiq Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister.It rose to new prominence, however, following allegations that several truckloads of light weapons and missiles were transferred on January 31, after which, according to officials, the Lebanese army all but acknowledged it was playing a role.