By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent, and Agencies - 17/08/2006

Lebanese troops, backed by tanks and armored vehicles, began early Thursday to deploy south of the Litani River in line with a United Nations cease-fire plan to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, a senior military official said.

The deployment will continue for a few days "to spread Lebanese government authority over all Lebanese territory, including south of the Litani River," the official said, on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make statements to the media.

The first troops of a 2,500-strong brigade arrived Thursday morning in the southern Christian border town of Marjayoun, and troops are set to deploy along the border with Israel within 24 hours, a top army commander said.

The troops arrived in Marjayoun, just 7 kilometers from the border as part of the first deployment in decades to control the border area, long controlled by Hezbollah.

"We should deploy within 24 hours along the Blue Line," the United Nations-demarcated border between Lebanon and Israel, General Charles Shikhani, the head of the forces in the Marjayoun area, told reporters.

The Israel Defense Forces also said Thursday that it had begun "transferring responsibility" over southern Lebanon with the deployment of the Lebanese army in the area.

An Associated Press reporter saw about 40 military trucks and jeeps, carrying soldiers, equipment, luggage and plastic water tanks, heading to south Lebanon at around 4 A.M. (0100 GMT) Thursday. The trucks and jeeps hoisted Lebanese flags as they drove into central Beirut on their way to south Lebanon.

More than 100 trucks and 10 armored carriers mounted on flatbed trucks streamed across a newly installed metal bridge over the river, escorted by several other military vehicles. The bridge was built by the army to replace a structure that was bombed by Israel Air Force warplanes during the 34-day offensive.

The column headed to the town of Marjayoun, around 8 km from the border. Some towed artillery pieces, others carried troops and equipment. A few UN peacekeepers watched them cross.

Dozens of people lined roads where they passed, waving red and white Lebanese flags and throwing rice and flowers in celebration.

"May God protect you," 64-year-old Khadeeja Sheet yelled at the passing soldiers. "We support nobody except for our army."

Other units crossed the river at Qasmiyeh to deploy in the area around the port city of Tyre, the sources said.

"What is better than this feeling we have today?" asked George Wanna, a 55-year-old father of four from the village of Qlai`a, one of the villages on the soldiers` route. "The army protects my home so that I can sleep comfortably."

IDF begins handover to UNIFIL

The IDF confirmed said early Thursday that its troops have handed over some of their positions to the United Nations force operating in the area.

"Following a joint agreement of members of the IDF, UNIFIL [United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon] and the Lebanese army, the process of transferring authority has begun," an IDF statement said.

Under the UN cease-fire agreement, Israel was to transfer control of its positions in southern Lebanon to the UN force, who would then turn it over to the Lebanese army.

More than 50 percent of the areas Israel holds have been transferred already, the IDF said. The area extends north and east of the town of Marjayoun and another area further west.

"The process will be carried out in stages and is conditional on the reinforcement of UNIFIL and the ability of the Lebanese army to take effective control of the area," the statement said.

The Security Council resolution authorized up to 15,000 UN peacekeepers to help 15,000 Lebanese troops extend their authority throughout south Lebanon, which Hezbollah controls, and called on IDF troops to withdraw "in parallel."

The aim is to create a buffer zone free of Hezbollah fighters between the Litani River, 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Israel, and the UN-drawn border.

There are currently some 2,000 UNIFIL troops in the area.

Lebanese cabinet won`t force Hezbollah to disarm

According to the cabinet decision, Hezbollah will not disarm in southern Lebanon, but its members will refrain from carrying weapons in public. The agreement was reached following deliberations with Hezbollah representatives that lasted days.

The Lebanese government`s decision contradicts United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, reached last week, which determines that the area south of the Litani River will be free of arms, aside from those held by Lebanese soldiers and UNIFIL troops. The cabinet made the decision after Hezbollah rejected all demands to disarm south of the Litani.

"The weapons of the resistance are the only ones, of all Arabs, that succeeded in standing up to Israel and defeating it. No one can take away the weapons of the resistance, certainly not by force," pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, who headed the cabinet meeting, said. "The Lebanese army will deploy [in the south] and will be for all the Lebanese," he told reporters.

Al-Jazeera reported Wednesday that Hezbollah rejected all proposals, including that it transfer its weapons to the Lebanese army, transfer its weapons to UNIFIL or allow the Lebanese army to search the organization`s positions for weapons. A compromise was reached, according to which Hezbollah will not conduct military activities in southern Lebanon.

The government decision does not mention collecting Hezbollah weapons, but only that there will not be an "armed military presence" of Hezbollah in the south, or of any factor aside from the Lebanese army or UNIFIL.

Hezbollah`s top official in south Lebanon, Sheik Nabil Kaouk, told reporters in Tyre that the group welcomes the Lebanese army`s additional deployment in the south.

"Just like in the past, Hezbollah had no visible military presence and there will not be any visible presence now," he said.

That was the strongest indication that the guerrillas would not disarm in the region or withdraw, but rather melt into the local population and hide their weapons.

The United States welcomed the Lebanese decision to deploy troops. "It shows their commitment by a democratically elected government to holding the peace, to holding this cessation of violence, their willingness to act in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions," State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos told reporters.