UN peacekeepers stay on Lebanon's border despite Israeli ground incursion
The United Nations peacekeeping chief says U.N. peacekeepers are staying in their positions on Lebanon’s southern border despite Israel’s request to vacate some areas before it launched its ground operation
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. peacekeepers are staying in their positions on Lebanon’s southern border despite Israel’s request to vacate some areas before it launched its ground operation against Hezbollah militants, the U.N. peacekeeping chief said Thursday.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the commander and liaison officers from the U.N. force, known as UNIFIL, also are in constant contact with their counterparts in the Israeli and Lebanese militaries. He called that key to protecting the U.N.’s more than 10,000 peacekeepers.
The U.N. force is “the only channel of communications between the parties,” he told reporters. “The peacekeepers are also working with partners to do what they can to protect the population.”
UNIFIL was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel’s 1978 invasion. The U.N. expanded its mission following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, allowing peacekeepers to deploy along the Israeli border.
