Hezbollah threatens countries that may oversee its disarmament

Hezbollah has threatened to target troops from Britain and Azerbaijan if they take part in a proposed international force in southern Lebanon tasked with monitoring the disarmament process.

A Hezbollah official described any British deployment as an “occupation force” and threatened Azerbaijani troops because of Baku’s military and security ties with Israel.

The warning comes as the composition of the force is still being discussed. Israel reportedly opposes French and Spanish participation and favors Britain, while Hezbollah is drawing its own red lines over which countries it would accept.

The dispute shows how contested any effort to enforce disarmament in the south is likely to be: Israel wants forces it trusts to monitor implementation, while Hezbollah is already threatening foreign troops before any deployment has even taken place