The UN Security Council has decided to end the work of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The mission was last extended until the end of 2026, after which the peacekeepers will begin a phased “orderly and safe reduction and withdrawal” of personnel within a year.
Reuters writes about this.
UNIFIL has been operating since 1978 and patrols Lebanon’s southern border with Israel. After the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, the mission’s mandate was expanded – peacekeepers helped the Lebanese army keep the territory free of armed groups other than government forces.
The United States has stressed that it will no longer support an extension of the mandate. “The security environment in Lebanon is fundamentally different from last year, and this creates the conditions for the country to assume greater responsibility,” said Dorothy Shea, the acting US ambassador to the UN.
The decision was met with criticism in Israel. The country’s permanent representative to the UN, Dani Danon, said: “UNIFIL has failed its mission and allowed Hezbollah to become a dangerous regional threat.”
In turn, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the ruling, stressing that it “reiterates the call for Israel to withdraw its troops from the five areas it still holds and confirms the need to extend state authority to the entire territory of the country.”
Source: suspilne.media