Israeli soldiers in July 2006 leading to a 34-day conflict with
Israel. UNSCR 1701, which passed in August 2006, called for the
disarmament of Hizballah.

Lesotho
Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon
independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled
for the first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but
returned to Lesotho in 1992 and reinstated in 1995. Constitutional
government was restored in 1993 after 7 years of military rule. In
1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious
election prompted a brief but bloody intervention by South African
and Botswanan military forces under the aegis of the Southern
African Development Community. Constitutional reforms have since
restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were
held in 2002.

Liberia
Settlement of freed slaves from the US in what is today
Liberia began in 1822; by 1847, the Americo-Liberians were able to
establish a republic. William TUBMAN, president from 1944-71, did
much to promote foreign investment and to bridge the economic,
social, and political gaps between the descendents of the original
settlers and the inhabitants of the interior. In 1980, a military
coup led by Samuel DOE ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. In
December 1989, Charles TAYLOR launched a rebellion against DOE's
regime that led to a prolonged civil war in which DOE himself was
killed. A period of relative peace in 1997 allowed for elections
that brought TAYLOR to power, but major fighting resumed in 2000. An
August 2003, peace agreement ended the war and prompted the
resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR, who was exiled to
Nigeria. After two years of rule by a transitional government,
democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen JOHNSON
SIRLEAF to power. The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), which maintains
a strong presence throughout the country, completed a disarmament
program for former combatants in late 2004, but the security
situation is still volatile and the process of rebuilding the social
and economic structure of this war-torn country remains sluggish.

Libya
The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks from the area around
Tripoli in 1911 and did not relinquish their hold until 1943 when
defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and
achieved independence in 1951. Foll