Annan Calls Emergency Meeting on Mideast

07/30/2006

Jul 30, 10:39 AM (ET)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Sunday after an Israeli airstrike on a Lebanese village killed at least 56 people, most of them children.

The meeting was called, at the request of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, to seek an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon. After three weeks of war between Israel and Hezbollah, the council has yet to take a stance on the fighting, in part because the United States has not called for a cessation of hostilities.

The council was expected to discuss a French-sponsored draft resolution, circulated late Saturday, that spells out a series of steps meant to resolve the crisis, including an immediate halt to fighting. It also seeks the creation of a buffer zone in southern Lebanon that would be free of Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops.