The foreign ministers of France and Turkey arrived in Beirut on Wednesday to help plan the assembly of a 15,000-strong international force to oversee peacekeeping efforts in Lebanon. An explosive left over from the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah killed a man. The international force would work with an equal number of Lebanese soldiers to police the cease-fire that took hold Monday morning and ended 34 days of close combat, Israeli air strikes and Hezbollah rocket barrages. The diplomatic maneuvers came as the Israeli army withdrew some troops from south Lebanon while Lebanese troops prepared to move across the Litani River on Thursday to take control of the war-ravaged region from Shiite Muslim fighters. French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, arrived in Beirut for talks. The foreign ministers of Pakistan and Malaysia, Khurshid Kasuri and Syed Hamid Al-Bar respectively were also expected. In a sign of lingering danger in south Lebanon, security officials said an explosive detonated Wednesday in the town of Nabatiyeh, killing a 20-year-old man. The victim, Ali Turkieh, stepped on the bomb outside his family home. A girl in the area was injured by explosives a day earlier, the Associated Press reported. The U.N. hopes 3,500 international troops can reinforce a U.N. contingent already on the ground within 10 to 15 days to help consolidate the cease-fire and create conditions for Israeli forces to head home, Assistant U.N. Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hedi Annabi said. Journalists on Tuesday witnessed about 500 Israeli soldiers on foot crossing the border back into Israel near the Israeli town of Malkiya. Some smiled broadly, while others wept. France was expected to lead the international force. The Italian foreign minister has already visited Beirut and pledged as many as 3,000 troops. Indonesia and a dozen other countries have expressed a willingness to help. However, it remained unclear how quickly a full force could be deployed to Lebanon.
