The UN opposes any land invasion by Israeli forces in Lebanon, the Secretary-General’s spokesman said today. António Guterres.
“We don’t want to see any kind of land invasion,” he said Stephane Dujarricrepeating the call for “de-escalation”, a ceasefire and expressing concern about the “humanitarian consequences” of the damage in Lebanon.
The more than 10,000 soldiers of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL/Finul) can no longer patrol due to the intensity of the fighting, the UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson announced.
“Our UNIFIL blue helmets stay in place within the mission’s area of responsibility, although the intensity of the fighting is impeding their movements and their ability to carry out their duties,” Dujarric said.
“Given the intensity of the rocket exchange, (the worker troops) cannot patrol,” he explained, noting that they could only observe the situation from their positions.
When asked about it possibility of removal from the point of view of peacekeepers, in the event of a further escalation of the situation, the representative refused to “speculate”. He said, however, that there is a “contingency plan” if necessary.
“We are monitoring the development of the situation hour by hour”, he added, clarifying that part of UNIFIL’s civilian staff had left and headed north.
A force of more than 10,000 men, UNIFIL has been stationed in southern Lebanon since 1978 to act as a protective shield on the border with Israel. Its role was reinforced after the 33-day conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in the summer of 2006.
UNIFIL is responsible for monitoring the implementation of resolution 1701 of the Security Council, which stipulates that only the Lebanese Army and the Blue Helmets should be deployed to South Lebanon. They must patrol along the Blue Line, the UN-defined border demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel.
Source: RES/MPE
