From the Liveblog of
Friday, October 11, 2024
Some UNIFIL peacekeepers moving, Security Council told as US pushes to bolster Lebanese army
The head of UN peacekeeping Jean-Pierre Lacroix tells a Security Council meeting that 300 peacekeepers in southern Lebanon were temporarily relocated to larger bases earlier this week, “with the movement of another 200 planned.”
UNIFIL’s footprint in the most affected positions has been slashed by 25 percent, he says, while noting that peacekeeper numbers had earlier been beefed up due to tensions.
“The safety and security of peacekeepers is now increasingly in jeopardy,” Lacroix tells the Security Council.
Most members at the meeting express condemnation or concern over Israeli tank fire that hit a UNIFIL watchtower Thursday, but Deputy US Ambassador Robert Wood says the international community should focus its efforts on strengthening Lebanese state institutions.
“The solution to this crisis is not a weaker Lebanon. It’s a strong and truly sovereign Lebanon, protected by a legitimate security force, embodied in the Lebanese Armed Forces,” he says.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told the council that resolution 1701, which requires Hezbollah to move armed units away from southern Lebanon, must be enforced, along with resolution 1559, which was adopted in 2004, and “calls for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias.”
“We are fulfilling our obligations to ensure this, and the council must support us in our efforts,” he says.
Lacroix says it is up to Lebanon and Israel to ensure resolution 1701 is upheld.
“UNIFIL is mandated to support the implementation of resolution 1701, but we must insist that it is for the parties themselves to implement the provisions of this resolution,” he told the Security Council.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti earlier insisted that Blue Helmets would remain despite the danger of being caught in the crossfire.
“We are there because the (U.N.) Security Council has asked us to be there. So we are staying until the situation becomes impossible for us to operate,” Tenenti added.
French UN Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere tells the council that one of the goals of a conference that France plans to hold on Lebanon on October 24 is to guarantee Lebanon’s sovereignty.
“We want heightened support for Lebanese institutions, in particular, the Lebanese Armed Forces,” he says, later telling reporters: “We need the Lebanese Armed Forces to be deployed to the south and do the job … What we need to do is to make sure that the Lebanese Armed Forces are properly equipped and trained.”
