U.S. Says UNIFIL Chief 'Blind' to Hizbullah Arms

The United States has blasted the commander of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, accusing him of turning a blind eye to Hizbullah weapons smuggling.

U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley said the 10,500-strong UNIFIL force was "not doing its job effectively" and singled out its Irish leader, Major General Michael Beary.

"What I find totally baffling is the view of the UNIFIL commander General Beary," Haley told reporters, accusing him of ignoring Hizbullah's arms dumps.

"He seems to be the only person in south Lebanon who is blind. That's an embarrassing lack of understanding on what's going on around him," she said.

Asked about Haley's sharp criticism, United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said of Beary "we have full confidence in his work."

Beary pushed back this week on U.S. and Israeli criticism. The Irish general told The Associated Press that his force has no evidence of weapons being illegally transferred and stockpiled in the area, and that "if there was a large cache of weapons, we would know about it."

Haley was speaking at U.N. headquarters as member states debate the future of UNIFIL, which is deployed to keep the peace on Lebanon's southern border with Israel.

The existing mandate, last modified in 2006, expires at the end of the month, and the United States would like to see its language toughened.

Washington wants the U.N. force to take a tougher line on Hizbullah.

Israel alleges that Hizbullah is restocking its arms dumps and missile batteries in southern Lebanon, under the eyes of Blue Helmet peacekeepers.

But Russia, which is allied with Iran and thus with Hizbullah in support of regime forces in the conflict in neighboring Syria, wields a U.N. Security Council veto.

And U.S. allies France and Italy, which have hundreds of soldiers in the U.N. force that would be in danger if it clashed with Hizbullah, are also concerned.

"Since 2006 there has been a massive flow of illegal weapons to Hizbullah, mostly smuggled in by Iran," Haley alleged.

"They openly threaten Israel. Hizbullah is a terrorist organization that is very destabilizing to the region," she added.

Haley said the mandate obliges UNIFIL to work with the Lebanese Armed Forces to disarm illegal groups and that she would seek to underline this in the renewal.