Lebanon: UN Special Coordinator Calls for Sustained Solution to the Conflict

UNIFIL soldiers in the Lebanese town of Marwahin on the border with Israel (AP)
UNIFIL soldiers in the Lebanese town of Marwahin on the border with Israel (AP)
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Lebanon: UN Special Coordinator Calls for Sustained Solution to the Conflict

UNIFIL soldiers in the Lebanese town of Marwahin on the border with Israel (AP)
UNIFIL soldiers in the Lebanese town of Marwahin on the border with Israel (AP)

UN special coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka said on Friday that the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2695 on the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate should be an opportunity for all sides to recommit to stability in southern Lebanon and along the Blue Line.

During a meeting with Lebanon’s caretaker Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib, Wronecka stressed the importance of working towards the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006).

“It is important to move towards a permanent ceasefire and long-term solution to the conflict in line with Resolution 1701,” a statement issued by the office of the UN Special Coordinator quoted her as saying.

“To this end, UNSCOL works in support of the Lebanese authorities and extends the good offices of the UN Secretary-General for peace and security in the region,” she added.

On the presidential vacuum in Lebanon, she stressed the need to elect a new president and find ways to overcome the current political impasse.

In her upcoming round of meetings, the Special Coordinator will be encouraging stakeholders to adopt a constructive solution-oriented approach, said the statement.

The Special Coordinator reconfirmed the UN’s commitment to support Lebanon and the Lebanese people.



Israeli Strike in Syria Kills 5 Soldiers

People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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Israeli Strike in Syria Kills 5 Soldiers

People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People fleeing from Lebanon arrive on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon in Jdeidat Yabus in southwestern Syria on September 25, 2024. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

An overnight Israeli airstrike on a military site in the area of Kfar Yabous in Syria near the border with Lebanon killed five Syrian army soldiers and injured another, Syrian state news agency SANA reported Friday, citing an unnamed military official.

Israel's military did not immediately acknowledge the strike. Israel regularly targets military sites in Syria and facilities linked to Iran and the Lebanon’s Hezbollah but rarely acknowledges them.

Those strikes have become more frequent as Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese and Syrians have fled across the border from Lebanon into Syria since the beginning of the week amid intense Israeli bombardment that Israel says is targeting Hezbollah fighters and weapons. The strikes have killed an estimated 700 people to date, including at least 150 women and children.