Lebanon army to conduct more joint patrols with UNIFIL
A source close to the Lebanese army leadership has told Al Jazeera that:
- The deployment of the army in southern Lebanon comes in compliance with resolution 1701 and the army adheres to the decision.
- The army’s mission in southern Lebanon is to conduct patrols in coordination with UNIFIL.
- The Lebanese army will not allow Israel to storm its positions in southern Lebanon and will defend them.
- The army is communicating with friendly armies to obtain funds to increase its resources and equipment in southern Lebanon.
- The army seeks to raise the number of its soldiers in southern Lebanon to 10,000.
Spanish peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) coordinate their patrol with the Lebanese army, in Marjayoun in south Lebanon, on October 8
UN peacekeepers in Lebanon warn against ‘catastrophic’ regional conflict
A spokesman for the UN peacekeepers in Lebanon says he fears an Israeli escalation against Lebanon’s Hezbollah group could soon spiral out of control.
This risks “turning very soon into a regional conflict with catastrophic impact for everyone”, UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told the AFP news agency, calling for a diplomatic solution.
Spokesperson says UN peacekeepers to remain in Lebanon: Report
UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon will not move from the border area despite five of their members being wounded and damage to facilities during the Israel-Hezbollah war, their spokesperson told AFP.
Andrea Tenenti, the spokesperson for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), also said that an Israeli escalation against Lebanese group Hezbollah in past weeks risked turning into “a regional conflict with catastrophic impact for everyone” and that the only solution was “diplomatic”.
Tenenti said Israel had asked UNIFIL to withdraw from positions “up to five kilometres [three miles] from the Blue Line” separating both countries, but the peacekeepers refused.
That would have included its 29 positions in the country’s south.
“There was a unanimous decision to stay because it’s important for the UN flag to still fly high in this region, and to be able to report to the Security Council,” he told AFP in an exclusive interview.
