🇱🇧 The UN has warned of the danger of a new escalation along the border between Israel and Lebanon

The UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, warned of continuing security threats in southern Lebanon. Following his three-day visit to the country, he stressed the need to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and maintain mechanisms to prevent armed clashes between Israel and Lebanon. The impending end of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon — UNIFIL — is a particular concern.

The mandate of the peacekeeping mission, which has been operating in southern Lebanon for nearly half a century, expires on December 31. Lebanese authorities support maintaining an international presence that can monitor the situation along the border and support the work of the national armed forces. In talks with President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and the army leadership, Lacroix discussed options for international involvement after the withdrawal of the peacekeepers.

The end of the UNIFIL mission creates additional uncertainty in one of the most unstable regions of the Middle East. Without a coordinated mechanism for international monitoring, the risk increases that local incidents along the border could escalate into a new large-scale armed confrontation.

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