UNIFIL has for decades acted as a buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon, assisting the Lebanese army as it dismantles Hezbollah infrastructure near the Israeli border following the recent war between Israel and the Iran-backed group.
Under pressure from the United States and Israel, the UN Security Council voted last year to end the force’s mandate on December 31, 2026, with an “orderly and safe withdrawal” within a year.
Spokeswoman Kandice Ardiel said that “UNIFIL plans to withdraw all, or nearly all, uniformed personnel by mid-2027,” completing the withdrawal by the end of the year.
After UNIFIL ceases operations on December 31 this year, she said, “we begin the process of sending UNIFIL personnel and equipment home and handing over our UN positions to the Lebanese authorities.”
During the withdrawal, the force will be authorized to perform only limited tasks such as protecting UN personnel and bases and overseeing safe departure.
Despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, Israel has continued regular attacks on Lebanon, mostly claiming to target Hezbollah, and has kept troops in five border areas.
UNIFIL patrols near the border and monitors violations of the UN resolution that ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and which forms the basis of the current ceasefire.
Since the ceasefire, he has repeatedly reported Israeli fire on or near his personnel.
Ardiel said UNIFIL has reduced the number of peacekeepers in southern Lebanon by almost 2,000 in the past few months, “with several hundred more to leave by May”.
The peacekeeping forces now number about 7,500 members from 48 countries.
She said the reduction was a direct result of the “financial crisis at the UN level” and the austerity measures that all missions were forced to implement”, and was not related to the end of the force’s mandate.
Lebanese authorities want a continued international troop presence in the south after UNIFIL leaves, even if their numbers are limited, and are calling on European countries to stay.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in Beirut this month that the Lebanese army should replace the forces when peacekeepers withdraw.
Italy has announced that it intends to maintain a military presence in Lebanon after UNIFIL leaves.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
