UN weighs continued Lebanon presence after peacekeeping mission ends

Some form of ongoing U.N. presence might continue after a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon ends later this year, U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on Thursday.

The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), first deployed in 1978, has over 7,000 peacekeepers from 47 nations. It has reported five of them killed in recent weeks, three from Indonesia and two from France, in the latest war between Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Lacroix told reporters in Geneva that he was consulting with all parties about the options after its mandate formally stops ⁠at the end of December and will make formal recommendations to the Security Council by June.

"They're (the Lebanese) very clear that they would want to keep a U.N. presence," he said. "We're looking at a presence that would probably be smaller than UNIFIL," he added.

UNIFIL's mandate currently includes monitoring a ceasefire, supporting the Lebanese army in its deployment into the south, and helping it enforce a prohibition of illegal arms there.



Reuters