By Sharon Gal and Shlomo Shamir, Ha'aretz Correspondents and the AP,16.6.00

IDF soldiers fired warning shots yesterday afternoon that struck the ground three meters from a UN team inspecting an Israeli-installed border fence. The mission to verify the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon was suspended.

The IDF spokesman admitted after a brief investigation that the shots were fired in error. The head of Northern Command, Major-General Gabi Ashkenazi, ordered units in the area to observe regulations on opening fire near the border.

Five warning shots rang out from an IDF observation post as the UN team was at the fence. The shooting began after eight UN and four Lebanese officers unchained a gate and were about to step through with some 15 journalists to head toward the village of Abbassiyeh behind the fence.

The incident prompted the Lebanese to call off the verification mission as it neared completion, and UN spokesman Timur Goskel said peacekeepers were summoned back to their base in Naqoura.

Israeli security officials claimed the soldiers spotted Lebanese civilians standing near the UN team as it was about to cross the border into Israeli territory, forcing them to fire the warning shots. Goskel denied that the team had tried to cross over into Israel, and told Ha'aretz that "there were no civilians standing near the UN officials and Lebanese officers. If there were any civilians, they were standing at a reasonable distance behind them."

"Following the Israeli apology, I hope the verification work will be continued at the border today," Goskel said.

UN Secretary General Kofi Anan is expected to announce today at the UN headquarters in New York that Israel has completed its pullout from Lebanon according to Security Council Resolution 425. The announcement was originally expected yesterday, but a special press conference with Anan was canceled at the last minute, apparently as a result of the border shooting incident.