Lebanon Seeks to Contain Fallout from Amendment to UN Peacekeepers’ Mission

A general view shows a UN watchtower near a border fence that surrounds the divided village of Ghajar, with its northern part falling inside Lebanon and the south becoming part of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on September 7, 2022, as Israel lifts entry restrictions to the disputed village on the Lebanese border. (AFP)
A general view shows a UN watchtower near a border fence that surrounds the divided village of Ghajar, with its northern part falling inside Lebanon and the south becoming part of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on September 7, 2022, as Israel lifts entry restrictions to the disputed village on the Lebanese border. (AFP)
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Lebanon Seeks to Contain Fallout from Amendment to UN Peacekeepers’ Mission

A general view shows a UN watchtower near a border fence that surrounds the divided village of Ghajar, with its northern part falling inside Lebanon and the south becoming part of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on September 7, 2022, as Israel lifts entry restrictions to the disputed village on the Lebanese border. (AFP)
A general view shows a UN watchtower near a border fence that surrounds the divided village of Ghajar, with its northern part falling inside Lebanon and the south becoming part of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on September 7, 2022, as Israel lifts entry restrictions to the disputed village on the Lebanese border. (AFP)

Lebanese authorities sought to contain the fallout of the amendments introduced to the mission of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) that is deployed in the country’s South, a Hezbollah stronghold.

At the request of the Lebanese government, the UN Security Council extended UNIFIL’s mandate for another year on August 31, with the adoption of Resolution 2650, but for the first time since 2006, it amended the mission of the peacekeeping force.

“The Council reiterates that UNIFIL does not require prior authorization or permission from anyone to undertake its mandated tasks, and that it is allowed to conduct its operations independently,” said UNIFIL.

“It calls on the parties to guarantee UNIFIL’s freedom of movement, including by allowing announced and unannounced patrols. The Council condemns the harassment and intimidation of UNIFIL personnel, as well as the use of disinformation campaigns against peacekeepers,” it added.

The rules of engagement in place since 2006 have stipulated that the Lebanese army accompany UNIFIL patrols in its areas of operation. The peacekeepers had been harassed and attacked by citizens in the past for allegedly taking photos of some locations and because their patrols had veered off their usual path.

Lebanese authorities have always sought to extend the UNIFIL mission without amendments. The position was reiterated by President Michel Aoun in June when he called on the Security Council to extend the peacekeepers’ term for another year.

He hailed at the time UNIFIL’s “vital” and “positive” role in maintaining regional and even international security.

The amendments therefore, came as a surprise to Lebanese authorities.

Ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Lebanon had “turned the Security Council’s attention to” the negative impact of the move, “which may lead to clashes between the residents of the South and the peacekeepers.”

Lebanon has long sought to avoid such clashes by making sure that the army accompanies UNIFIL patrols, they added, remarking however that it has not approached the Council and UNIFIL command over the amendments.

Nothing is being prepared to that end either, they said, stressing the need for coordination and cooperation with the army.

UNIFIL carries out around 430 patrols a day. Soldiers are not always at hand to accompany the patrols. The incidents that have broken out between locals and the peacekeepers have almost always taken place whenever the army has been absent.

Locally, officials are trying to contain the fallout from the amendments.

The caretaker government has spoken to the UNIFIL command about the issue. Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said on Friday: “We agreed with the command that the amendments will not lead to changes in the rules of engagement.”

Defense Minister Maurice Slim met with UNIFIL commander Aroldo Lázaro on Thursday. Slim underscored the coordination between UNIFIL and the army in line with resolutions 425, 426 and 1701.

He stressed the need to maintain the coordination and cooperation between the two sides to “preserve calm and stability in the South.”

Meanwhile, Hezbollah slammed the changes.

Hezbollah official and Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s representative in Lebanon, Mohammed Yazbek condemned the amendments.

“This is a dangerous development that turns the peacekeeping force into an occupying one,” he warned.

He also claimed that the amendments allow the peacekeepers to protect Israel and “spy on the people and resistance [Hezbollah].”



UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)

UN officials on Monday asked for $6 billion for Sudan this year from donors to help ease what they called the world's worst ever hunger catastrophe and the mass displacement of people brought on by civil war.

The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40% from last year's for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe.

The UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population - looks set to worsen.

World Food Program chief Cindy McCain, speaking via video to a room full of diplomats in Geneva, said: "Sudan is now the epicenter of the world's largest and most severe hunger crisis ever."

She did not provide figures, but Sudan's total population currently stands at about 48 million people. Among previous world famines, the Bengal Famine of 1943 claimed between 2 million and 3 million lives, according to several estimates, while millions are believed to have died in the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61.

Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, a UN statement said, and this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services.

"This is a humanitarian crisis that is truly unprecedented in its scale and its gravity and it demands a response unprecedented in scale and intent," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said.

One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold.

While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief.

The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion - the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.