PARIS, Aug 14, 2006 (AFP) - France and Italy are leading the scramble to beef up the small UN monitoring force in southern Lebanon which will be key to making the tenuous ceasefire that started Monday durable.

Under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, unanimously adopted Friday, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is to swell from its current 1,990-strong force to 15,000 international troops.

Here is a provisional breakdown of countries prepared to contribute troops:

FRANCE

French President Jacques Chirac, whose country drafted the UN resolution with the United States, has said France will assume its responsibilities, "particularly concerning the new UNIFIL force."

Reports say France would command the UNIFIL deployment.

The defence ministry has said it is "too early" to put a figure to France's troop contribution, although press reports have spoken of several thousand.

One French official, speaking anonymously, said 4,000 "seems a feasible number," while a military source said the actual number of French soldiers in Lebanon would likely be around 2,500.

A French military planning officer was due to arrive at the UN peacekeeping operations department in New York Monday. In addition, five military engineers were expected in Lebanon to assess road transport reconstruction needs.

ITALY

Italy has agreed to send some troops, according to both the Lebanese and Israeli governments.

Italian defence officials cited by the media have spoken of between 2,000 and 3,000 soldiers. The government is to meet on Friday to set out the details of the mission.

MALAYSIA

Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has said the country will send a battalion of 1,000 soldiers once the UN gives the green light.

RUSSIA

Russia is considering the possibility of participating but the foreign ministry said a decision had not been made.

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