UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
9 Jan
2009
Old weapons cache with several rockets found in south Lebanon on 9 January 2009
This afternoon a patrol from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), operating in coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces, found an old weapons cache inside two disused bunkers located between the hills of Kafer Chouba and Kafer Hammam in the Eastern Sector of UNIFIL's Area of Operations in south Lebanon.
The cache comprises of approximately 34 Grad-P rockets and some boxes of allied ammunition that were placed in two old bunkers covered by camouflage nets. There is no sign of any recent use of the bunkers and the weapons appear to date from the period of the 2006 conflict.
UNIFIL Force Commander Major-General Claudio Graziano said: "In accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1701, UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) are taking concrete measures to ensure that the area between the Litani River and the Line of Withdrawal (Blue Line) is free of any armed personnel, assets, and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL."
He added: "Recent developments have prompted us to enhance our joint presence on the ground. It was in the course of this intensified patrolling activity that the weapons cache was found."
Currently UNIFIL Explosive Ordnance Teams together with the Lebanese Armed Forces are on location for further inspection and to ascertain the precise quantity of the weapons. Thereafter the weapons will be handed over to the Lebanese Armed Forces for appropriate disposal.
