(2006-08-26) — United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced today that an unnamed “but reputable middle eastern social services agency” had agreed to provide armed troops to complete the 15,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping contingent in southern Lebanon.

The news comes after word that Mr. Annan had persuaded Europe to send almost 7,000 troops under French leadership to secure the peace along the Israel-Lebanon border without disarming Hezbollah or cutting off its military supply lines from Syria and Iran.

“The organization that will complete our U.N. force has a long history of dealing with armed conflict in the region,” said Mr. Annan. “They know Hezbollah better than anyone else. They know Israel’s capabilities and tactics. They are held in high esteem by most members of the U.N. for their work to overcome what many see as the root cause of all global tensions.”

Mr. Annan said the anonymous group is well supplied with weaponry from a third-party, so their deployment would not require additional funds from the U.N. budget, and they could be in position faster than any army in the world.

Negotiations continue over equipping the new force with U.N. uniforms and blue helmets, Mr. Annan said, since these soldiers are not accustomed to identifying themselves as military combatants.

“They tend to blend in with society as they do their reconstruction, education and health care work,” he said, “and they don’t like the inconvenience of having to change into battle dress uniforms or move away from civilian areas in order to conduct military operations. I don’t see that as a deal-breaker.”

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