JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: For the first time in two decades, Lebanese security forces have deployed in the southern part of their country. CNN's Walter Rodgers reports.</s>WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The roar of a column of Lebanese security forces moving into South Lebanon: Until last May, these roads and villages were the domain of the Israeli army and its proxy forces. The 1000-man convoy made up of the Lebanese army's military police and anti-terrorism units, as well as other police, offered the first show of state authority in 24 years. By daybreak, they assumed control of the Marjayoun barracks that used to be headquarters of Israel's south Lebanese army. This colonel said his mission is to carry out patrols and conduct mobile checkpoints. Israel occupied this portion of South Lebanon in a self- proclaimed buffer zone to protect its northern border from guerrilla attacks. "We were oppressed and living in hell," this woman said. Lebanese women threw rice hoping their own security forces could restore order and stability in towns that have seen bloodshed and war between Israel and Arab guerrillas for more than 20 years. Some local enthusiasm came from Lebanese Christians who had been allied with the Israelis. Recently, these villages have reportedly seen limited incidents of looting by Lebanese Shiite guerrillas since the Israelis departed. Even with the Israelis gone, tensions remain. Some Lebanese have been throwing stones, even molotov cocktails, toward Israel. And Israelis have been accused of shooting back with live ammunition. Until now, the Lebanese security forces refused to guard this area because they did not want to be accused of protecting the Israelis. Walter Rodgers, CNN.
Lebanese Security Forces Deploy in South Lebanon