U.N. peacekeepers conduct exercise in southern Lebanon

U.N. peacekeepers conducted a major military exercise with live ammunition in southern Lebanon
on Monday, the peacekeeping force said in a statement,AP reported.
The statement said the Field Artillery Group, part of the
mission's Quick Reaction Force, carried out the exercise
near its headquarters in the coastal town of Naqoura. The
exercise's goal was to «hone the skills and expertise of
the battle group,» the statement said, and Lebanese troops
participated as observers.
Known as UNIFIL, the 13,000-member U.N. force is drawn
from 30 countries. It was deployed on Lebanon's southern
border with Israel along with 15,000 Lebanese troops after
last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah. The mission
enforces a U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the
34-day war, which killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon
and 159 people on the Israeli side.
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