Annan confirms Israel violated Lebanon truce

In the wake of an Israeli commando raid near Baalbek in eastern Lebanon on Saturday, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Israel had violated the UN-backed truce and made him "deeply concerned."

"The secretary-general is deeply concerned about a violation by the Israeli side of the cessation of hostilities as laid out in Security Council resolution 1701," a spokesman for Annan said in a statement posted on the UN Web site.

The statement said that according to UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, "there have also been several air violations by Israeli military aircraft."

"All such violations of Security Council resolution 1701 endanger the fragile calm that was reached after much negotiation and undermine the authority of the government of Lebanon," the statement said.

"The secretary-general further calls on all parties to respect strictly the arms embargo, exercise maximum restraint, avoid provocative actions and display responsibility in implementing resolution 1701."