Displaced Lebanese people begin returning despite danger warnings: UN

UNITED NATIONS, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Following the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, thousands of the 1.2 million people displaced in southern Lebanon are returning home despite warnings of unexploded ordnance, UN humanitarians said Friday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said its partners reported that displaced families are starting to return to Beirut's southern suburbs and southern Lebanon, including parts of Nabatieh and Tyre.

However, OCHA warned that risks to people's safety remain, including unexploded ordnance in many residential areas across the South and Nabatieh governorates.

"According to partners and local authorities, thousands of people were seen travelling south early this morning, with major roads congested, particularly near the villages of Qasmiyeh and Zefta in southern Lebanon, despite extensive damage to bridges and infrastructure," OCHA said.

The office said that temporary fixes were installed at river crossings in the South governorate and along the coastal route of Qasmiyeh to facilitate returns.

OCHA said that by Friday evening local time, there were 113,000 people in collective shelters, down from the 141,000 registered on Thursday.

"Partners continue to support the humanitarian response in close coordination with the local authorities," the office said.

The 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect at midnight between Thursday and Friday local time.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the announcement of the ceasefire, his chief spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday.

"He reaffirms the support of the United Nations to all efforts to end hostilities and alleviate the suffering of communities on both sides of the Blue Line," Dujarric said. "The secretary-general hopes that this ceasefire will pave the way for negotiations ... toward a long-term solution to the conflict."

The UN peacekeeping mission patrolling the Blue Line between northern Israel and southern Lebanon said that peacekeepers did not detect any projectiles fired into Israel or Israeli airstrikes in the area of their operations since the ceasefire began. ■