UN ‘working on’ keeping presence in Lebanon in 2027 even after UNIFIL mandate expires

By AFP 23 April 2026, 2:17 pm

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French contingent vehicles serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) cross the Qasmiyeh Bridge heading toward Sidon and Beirut, on April 19, 2026. (MAHMOUD ZAYYAT / AFP)

The United Nations says it is “working on” maintaining a presence in Lebanon once the mandate of its UNIFIL peacekeeping force expires at the end of the year.

“In terms of the post-UNIFIL, we’re currently in the process of working on these options,” Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN under-secretary-general for peace operations, tells a press conference in Geneva, with Beirut “very clear that they would want to keep a UN presence.”