Future UN mission needed to help prevent escalation, Guterres says

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council that the United Nations must maintain a presence in Lebanon when the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) expires at the end of the year.

“Under all proposed options, a uniformed United Nations presence working to facilitate de-escalation, dialogue, liaison and coordination, and support for the Lebanese Armed Forces, would be necessary,” he said.

Guterres proposed three possible frameworks for a future mission, ranging from nearly 2,000 personnel to more than 5,500.

Unifil currently consists of about 7,500 peacekeepers from nearly 50 countries deployed along the Blue Line, the effective border between Lebanon and Israel, where they have remained amid ongoing Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon.