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].”
