UN secretary general Kofi Annan said yesterday that he wanted the two Israeli soldiers whose capture by Lebanese Hizbullah guerrillas sparked a 34-day war with Israel to be released under Red Cross auspices.
In Beirut on a Middle East trip to seek a lasting ceasefire, Mr Annan also said he would ask Syria this week to police its border with Lebanon to prevent arms smuggling to Hizbullah.
"It is important that the borders are protected and there are no attempts to rearm," Mr Annan told a news conference.
"Lebanon has seen too much conflict. There are too many arms in the country. We don't need any more."
A Lebanese government source said Mr Annan told the cabinet he would urge Syria to set up diplomatic ties with Lebanon for the first time in the history of the two neighbours.
Mr Annan was later heckled by scores of Hizbullah supporters when he went on a walkabout in south Beirut - a Shia Muslim stronghold devastated by Israeli air strikes.
"He came after the war, after the destruction. Why is he here now?" said Ashraf Koukha (25) one of the protesters.
Mr Annan cut short the visit and was driven away, later visiting the grave of Rafik al-Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister killed in a car bomb attack in Beirut last year.
At his news conference, Mr Annan warned that the relative peace since the August 14th truce could still evaporate. "Without the full implementation of [ UN Security Council] resolution 1701 I fear the risk is great for a renewal of hostilities," he said.
The UN chief, due in Israel today, is seeking progress on all issues, involving Israel, Lebanon and Hizbullah, in the resolution, which calls for an expanded United Nations peacekeeping force to cement the truce.
Mr Annan urged Israel to lift its six-week-old sea and air blockade of Lebanon "immediately" and said he was highly satisfied with steps taken by the Lebanese government to police its borders.
Mr Annan had separate talks with prime minister Fouad Siniora, parliament speaker Nabih Berri and - unexpectedly - energy minister Mohammed Fneish.
Mr Berri is a key ally of Hizbullah, which has nominated him to negotiate on its behalf, while Mr Fneish is one of two Hizbullah ministers in the Lebanese government.
Mr Berri, who said he had complained to Mr Annan about Israeli truce violations, could play a key role in any negotiations to swap Lebanese prisoners for the two Israeli soldiers.
The UN is hoping to bolster peace through the deployment of up to 13,000 UN soldiers to southern Lebanon to join 2,000 UN troops and 15,000 Lebanese troops already there.
Yesterday in the Israeli city of Haifa, prime minister Ehud Olmert announced a low-level inquiry into the Lebanon war, rejecting a fuller, independent inquiry that could have led to high-level resignations in the government and military.