UNITED NATIONS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - An Italian general is to take command of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon after the French force commander steps down next month, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday. Ban, in a letter to the Security Council made public on Thursday, said he intended to name Major-General Claudio Graziano of Italy to succeed Major-General Alain Pellegrini of France, who is due to relinquish his command on Feb. 17. Graziano has previously served as military attache in the Italian Embassy in Washington, a commander in the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, and deputy chief of staff for operations in Italy's Joint Operations Headquarters. The U.N. peacekeepers have been considered vital in enforcing a U.N.-brokered cease-fire that took effect last Aug. 14, ending a 34-day war between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas. The Security Council, in an Aug. 11 resolution, had authorized a force of up to 15,000 U.N. troops, including the 2,000 based in Lebanon before the war. Reinforcements began moving into southern Lebanon within weeks of the end of the fighting. Under a compromise between Paris and Rome, France, which held the force command before the July-August war, was able to keep it for another six months with the understanding it would then be turned over to Italy. The peacekeeping force, known as the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, even though it has been in the country since 1978, now has 11,570 soldiers from 27 countries including 9.812 ground troops and 1,758 naval personnel, the mission said this week. In addition to monitoring the cease-fire, the mission helps enforce a U.N. arms embargo, provide humanitarian aid and clear mines and other explosive devices remaining in the area from previous conflicts.
