"General Mattis came to Lebanon to reiterate... the US government's position that the United States is committed to the continuity of (the Central Command's) relationship with the Lebanese army and to supporting legitimate institutions of the Lebanese state," the US embassy said.

The general "pledged to continue to support training and engagement assistance to the Lebanese army in order to build greater military capacity and deepen our relationship," it said in a statement.

"The US believes its assistance to the LAF (Lebanese armed forces) contributes to improving regional stability."

Mattis arrived on Friday for a brief visit, his first to Lebanon, during which he met President Michel Sleiman, Defence Minister Elias al-Murr and Lebanese army chief General Jean Kahwaji.

The visit came a week after a key US lawmaker lifted his hold on 100 million dollars in US military aid to Lebanon, saying he was reassured Lebanese troops would try to prevent flare-ups along the border with Israel.

House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Howard Berman said last week he was satisfied with a "thorough" inter-agency review by President Barack Obama's administration of its military assistance programme to Lebanon, initiated after his hold in August.

"As a result, I am convinced that implementation of the spending plan will now have greater focus, and I am reassured as to the nature and purposes of the proposed package," Berman said, noting he had been fully briefed about the review.

Last week Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington was committed to help restore stability in Lebanon.

The Lebanese people "deserve lasting peace and an end to political violence once and for all," she said in an interview with the Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar published on November 12.

"The United States is committed to that goal, and we will continue supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces to ensure they have the capacity to protect Lebanon's security from threats both internal and external," she added.

The United States has provided 720 million dollars in aid to the Lebanese army since 2005.

But US aid to Lebanon's military was suspended following a deadly skirmish between the Lebanese and Israeli armies in August.

Berman said he had received assurances that assistance to the Lebanese army had not fallen into the hands of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which fought a devastating war against Israel in 2006.

Political tensions are also rising in Lebanon as Sunni Prime Minister Saad Hariri is locked in a standoff with Hezbollah over a UN-backed probe into the assassination of his father, former premier Rafiq Hariri.

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