UNIFIL extended for one year. The United Nations (UN) renewed, Friday, August 29, its peace mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), by reducing its authorized personnel and asking the country of the Cedar for access to the tunnels under the Blue Line separating this country from 'Israel.

The resolution, drafted by France, was adopted by the Security Council unanimously by its 15 members, according to diplomats. "Recognizing that UNIFIL has successfully applied its mandate since 2006, allowing the maintenance of peace and security since then", the Council "decides to reduce the personnel ceiling from 15,000 soldiers to 13,000", indicates the resolution .

"Develop a detailed plan, with specific deadlines and modalities"

In fact, this decision does not change much. Indeed, the current strength of UNIFIL is around 10,500 peacekeepers, a diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.

In addition, the text "calls on the government of Lebanon to facilitate rapid and full access by UNIFIL to the sites the force wants to investigate, including all places north of the Blue Line linked to the discovery of tunnels" in 2019. allowing armed incursions into Israel.

Supporting Israel, which accused UNIFIL of "partiality" and "ineffectiveness," the United States had been campaigning since the beginning of the summer in favor of a reduction in the number of UNIFIL and access to the tunnels. the construction is attributed to the pro-Iranian Shiite movement Hezbollah, which is very influential in southern Lebanon.

The resolution further calls on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres "to develop a detailed plan, with specific deadlines and modalities", in coordination with Lebanon and the troop-contributing countries, to implement its June recommendations aimed at improving the performance of UNIFIL. In a report, he then advocated a "more agile and more mobile" force.

The Security Council asks Antonio Guterres to present the first elements of his plan to it within 60 days.

Present in Lebanon since 1978, UNIFIL, made up largely of European contingents, has been monitoring the Lebanese-Israeli border since the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, taking care to prevent a new conflict between these two parties.

With AFP

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