Hezbollah military sites ceded to army in S Lebanon

BEIRUT, Apr 12 (AFP): Most military sites belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon have been placed under Lebanese army control, a source close to the group said on Saturday.

A November 27 ceasefire that ended more than a year of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, including two months of full-blown war, stipulated that only United Nations peacekeepers and Lebanon's army should be deployed in the country's south.

The deal required the Iran-backed militant group to dismantle its remaining military infrastructure in the south and move its fighters north of the Litani River, which is about 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the Israeli border.

"Out of 265 Hezbollah military positions identified south of the Litani, the movement has ceded about 190 to the army," the source said on condition of anonymity.

Under the ceasefire, Israel was to complete its troop withdrawal from Lebanon by February 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops in five places it deems strategic.