UN 'very concerned' by violence in south Lebanon

BEIRUT, Jan 18 (AFP) - The UN representative in south Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, said Tuesday he was "very concerned" by a flare-up in violence along the border with Israel and pinned the main blame on the Hezbollah militia.
The clashes between Israeli forces and Lebanon's Shiite Muslim fundamentalist militia on Monday were "the second serious incident in the space of eight days in violation" of the UN-demarcated borderline, he said.
A Hezbollah bomb damaged an Israeli bulldozer that was being used for mine-clearing, he said in a statement.
"This Hezbollah action was the second serious violation on the Lebanese side in a little over a week," said de Mistura.
Two Lebanese civilians were wounded in retaliatory fire by Israeli artillery and aircraft.
On January 9, a French UN officer, an Israeli soldier and a Hezbollah fighter were killed in exchanges of fire between the militia and Israeli forces.
The UN representative called for "all parties to exercise a maximum of restraint after these violations which follow a relatively long period of calm", and he stressed that "one violation does not justify another".

01/18/2005 17:08 GMT - AFP