UN Security Council Extends UNIFIL Mandate, Adds New Support Measures

The United Nations Security Council on Monday extended for another year the mandate of UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

The new resolution reaffirms the mandate of the force, such as helping the Lebanese Army keep the area on the border between Israel and Lebanon free of intervention by Hizbullah, and for the first time also calls on UNIFIL to take “temporary and special measures” to support the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) with non-lethal material, such as food, fuel, and medicine, and logistical support for a period of six months.

The UNSC condemned “acts of harassment and intimidation against UNIFIL personnel” and  condemned “all violations of the Blue Line by air and ground.”

UNIFIL has around 10,000 peacekeepers from 46 troop-contributing countries with a mandate to monitor the cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel.