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UNIFIL Urges Lebanon to Ensure Its Troops' Freedom of Movement

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers watch as Israeli workers build a wall near the border with Israel, near the village of Naqoura, Lebanon March 6, 2018. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers watch as Israeli workers build a wall near the border with Israel, near the village of Naqoura, Lebanon March 6, 2018. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
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UNIFIL Urges Lebanon to Ensure Its Troops' Freedom of Movement

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers watch as Israeli workers build a wall near the border with Israel, near the village of Naqoura, Lebanon March 6, 2018. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers watch as Israeli workers build a wall near the border with Israel, near the village of Naqoura, Lebanon March 6, 2018. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesperson Andrea Tenenti called upon the Lebanese authorities to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of UNIFIL peacekeepers, the National News Agency reported.

Tenenti's remarks came after a large group of civilians stopped a UNIFIL convoy in Kawthariat Al-Sayad village in southern Lebanon, while it was returning to its base inside UNIFIL's area of operation.

He added that civilians confiscated the equipment of the UNIFIL's patrol, prompting the Lebanese army to rush to the area and take control of the situation.

He explained that the Lebanese Army later arrived at the scene and the UNIFIL peacekeepers were able to leave the village, but without the stolen equipment.

Tenenti stressed that UNIFIL’s full freedom of movement and the safety of its personnel are integral parts of the effective implementation of their tasks, noting that the UN secretary-general and Security Council strongly condemn such incidents.

The mandate of UNIFIL was renewed for another year in August 2020, with the Security Council reducing the number of troops from 15,000 to 13,000.

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Iraq, UK Agree on Trade Package Worth up to $15 Billion, Defense Deal

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (L) shake hands during their meeting in Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (L) shake hands during their meeting in Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
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Iraq, UK Agree on Trade Package Worth up to $15 Billion, Defense Deal

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (L) shake hands during their meeting in Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (L) shake hands during their meeting in Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)

Iraq and Britain have agreed on a trade package worth up to 12.3 billion pounds ($14.98 billion) and a bilateral defense deal, the Iraqi and British prime ministers said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The deal, envisaging more than 10 times the total of bilateral trade in 2024, was announced after a meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and British counterpart Keir Starmer at the latter's Downing Street offices.

It includes a 1.2-billion-pound project in which British-made power transmission systems will be used for a grid interconnection project between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, as well as a 500-million-pound plan to upgrade the Al-Qayyarah air base in northern Iraq.

A water infrastructure project by a UK-led consortium that will help provide clean water in arid southern and western Iraq is also part of the deal, the statement said. The project would be worth up to 5.3 billion pounds in UK exports.

Sudani and Starmer also signed a defense deal that "establishes the basis for a new era in security cooperation".

Sudani said earlier that the UK-Iraqi security deal would develop bilateral military ties after last year's announcement that the US-led coalition set up to fight ISIS would end its work in Iraq in 2026.

The Iraqi premier began an official visit to the United Kingdom on Monday amid historic geopolitical shifts in the Middle East.

Iraq is trying to avoid becoming a conflict zone once again amid a period of regional upheaval that has seen Iran's allies Hamas degraded in Gaza and Hezbollah battered in Lebanon during wars with Israel, and Bashar al-Assad toppled in Syria.