Lebanon
Current Operations
UNIFIL
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UN-led)
Since: 03/78
More Information
UN envoy warns of 'security vacuum for the next 2 to 3 months' (23.08.2006)
(Quelle: Daily Star (Beirut)) 'There is now a security vacuum which the Lebanese government is trying to fill' with the help of international forces, Terje Roed-Larsen, the top UN envoy on Syria-Lebanon issues, told Reuters in an interview. 'But I think realistically, up to a point, you will have such a vacuum in Lebanon for the next two to three months,' he added. 'The situation is still extremely fragile ... Unintended incidents can kick off renewed violence, which might escalate and spin out of control.'
Italy steps in with Lebanon offer (22.08.2006)
(Quelle: BBC) Italy has said it would be willing to lead a force to police the ceasefire in southern Lebanon. But Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema warned his country could only fulfil its offer if Israel respected the truce, now in its ninth day. 'It is right to demand that Hezbollah give up its weapons but we cannot send our soldiers to Lebanon while the Israeli armed forces continue to fire,' he told La Repubblica, ahead of a visit from Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni later this week.
La mission de désarmement de la Finul serait très limitée (22.08.2006)
(Quelle: Le Monde) Les règles d'engagement provisoires de la Force intérimaire des Nations unies au Liban (Finul), dont Le Monde a obtenu une copie, autorisent les casques bleus à ouvrir le feu pour se défendre, protéger les civils, ou désarmer les miliciens qui se trouveraient sur leur passage. Les 15 000 soldats, qui seront placés sous le drapeau onusien, n'auront toutefois pas pour mission de rechercher activement les armes du Hezbollah, ni de s'interposer en cas de reprise des combats.
Lebanese army moves into more positions vacated by Israeli troops as UN coordinates (21.08.2006)
(Quelle: UN News) The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that this latest withdrawal of Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and the deployment of Lebanese troops was going ahead in accordance with plans agreed yesterday during a third trilateral meeting held between its Force Commander and senior representatives from both sides. … UNIFIL is continuing ground and air patrols throughout its area of operations to monitor the cessation of hostilities and said that there had been Israeli air violations yesterday.
Israel objects to use of troops from several Muslim countries (21.08.2006)
(Quelle: Washington Post) Israel on Sunday objected to including countries that do not have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state in the nascent peacekeeping force for Lebanon, even as a U.N. envoy said the Lebanese army had fielded only 3,000 troops, about one-fifth of the force it plans to enforce the cease-fire in the south. … The list would include the Muslim countries of Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh, which are among the few nations that have pledged troops to the international force that is supposed to work with the Lebanese army to enforce the truce put in place after the five-week war.
Europeans delay decision on role inside Lebanon (21.08.2006)
(Quelle: New York Times) The shaky, United Nations-brokered cease-fire in Lebanon suffered another blow on Sunday when the European countries that had been called upon to provide the backbone of a peacekeeping force delayed a decision on committing troops until the mission is more clearly defined. … Haunted by their experiences in Bosnia in the 1990’s, when their forces were unable to stop widespread ethnic killing, European governments are insisting upon clarifying the chain of command and rules of engagement before plunging into the even greater complexities of the Middle East.
UN calls on Europe to commit troops (19.08.2006)
(Quelle: Irinnews) After the disappointing commitment by France of only 200 engineers to the newly tasked United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UN Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown appealed to the rest of Europe to provide troops for a “robust” force. “The particular appeal that I want to make today is that Europe comes forward with troops for this first wave,,” Malloch Brown told reporters, referring to the UN plan for an initial deployment of a 3500 troops within the next 10 days. … While European nations have appeared reticent to commit forces until the concept of operations has been further clarified, Asian Member States, notably Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia and Indonesia, made firm offerings of troops and mechanized battalions this week.
UN team discusses how to achieve long-term ceasefire with officials in Beirut (19.08.2006)
(Quelle: UN News) The delegation … includes Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Advisor, Vijay Nambiar, and Terje Roed-Larsen, Mr. Annan’s Special Representative for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1559. … In addition to Prime Minister Siniora, the delegation also met Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Elias Murr, and Minister of Interior Ahmed Fatfat. … The delegation was also briefed by General Alain Pellegrini, Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), on the situation in South Lebanon and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
La France réticente à engager son armée au Liban (17.08.2006)
(Quelle: Le Monde) Selon des sources onusiennes et diplomatiques, la France a été sur le point, mercredi 16 août, d'annoncer une participation uniquement symbolique à la force de 15 000 casques bleus chargés de maintenir une paix fragile au Liban sud, alors qu'elle était pressentie pour en constituer la colonne vertébrale. Cette décision a semé le trouble aux Nations unies.
Widerstand gegen deutsche Kampftruppen für den Nahen Osten (17.08.2006)
(Quelle: Die Welt) Stoiber legt beim Gipfel in Bayreuth Veto ein. FDP: 'Ein riesiger politischer Fehler'. Grüne sprechen von 'grober Missachtung' des Parlaments. … So kam zunächst nur der bereits erwartete Mix aus Marine-Kräften, logistischer Unterstützung und humanitärer Hilfe auf die deutsche Angebotsliste für die Vereinten Nationen.
Nations to meet on U.N. force in Lebanon (17.08.2006)
(Quelle: Washington Post) Countries that could contribute to an expanded U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon were to meet Thursday to find out how the troops will operate, and U.N. officials hoped many would commit soldiers to the force. France, meanwhile, wants to send a small, purely symbolic contingent to the force, and the United Nations is trying to convince French officials that such a decision would be devastating, a news report said Thursday. … Forty-five countries attended technical meetings for possible troop contributors on Saturday and Monday, and Thursday's formal meeting could attract even more.
Challenges facing Lebanon peace force (16.08.2006)
(Quelle: BBC) The ceasefire in Lebanon will now have to be followed by a complex series of manoeuvres, under UN Security Council resolution 1701, to try to ensure that conflict does not break out again. But already there are concerns that the process is going too slowly. The UN says that not one country has formally agreed to send troops to a peacekeeping force. … These are the countries that might take part and the forces they might send: France - 4-5,000, Italy - 2-3,000, Malaysia - 1,000, Turkey - 800-1,200, Indonesia – 850, Spain -700, Finland – 200, Brunei -200, Australia - a 'small niche', Germany - possible naval and police forces, Portugal - to be determined, Belgium - to be determined, the 2000 troops in Unifil will also be used, the US and UK will not contribute.
Annan dispatches senior envoys to the Middle East for talks on implementing resolution (16.08.2006)
(Quelle: UN News) Secretary-General Kofi Annan is sending a high-level mission to Lebanon and Israel tomorrow to talk to leaders of the two countries about how to implement last Friday’s Security Council resolution on the recent conflict in the Middle East, Mr. Annan’s spokesman announced today.
Israel-Hizbollah cessation of hostilities ‘generally maintained,’ UN Lebanon force says (16.08.2006)
(Quelle: UN News) The Security Council-imposed cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah was generally maintained in the past 24 hours, with three incidents reported, according to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has been in talks on facilitating a withdrawal of Israeli forces and the deployment of the Lebanese Army.
UN wants to see beefed-up international force in Lebanon as soon as possible (15.08.2006)
(Quelle: UN News) The United Nations wants to see a strengthened international force in war-ravaged southern Lebanon as soon as possible, with a vanguard unit of several thousand troops possibly on the ground within the next 10 days or so, to support the Security Council-mandated cessation of hostilities that was reached last week. “This is an exceptional situation where obviously we have a very fragile cessation of hostilities… so what we would like to see is the deployment of a kind of vanguard element of some 3,000 or 3,500 troops, including support units,” a senior UN official said today. “That could be deployed extremely rapidly in the next 10 to 15 days so that it does give UNIFIL (the UN Interim Force in Lebanon) the means to start implementing the responsibilities entrusted to it.”
"La situation est très fragile" (13.08.2006)
(Quelle: Le Monde) Entretien avec Général Alain Pellegrini, commandant de la Finul.
Lebanese cautiously welcome Security Council resolution (13.08.2006)
(Quelle: Irinnews) Analysts agree that the United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the battle between Israel and the armed wing of Lebanese political party Hezbollah was a satisfactory step for the time being. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan declared on Saturday that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to end fighting as of 5 a.m. GMT on Monday, which is 8 a.m. Lebanon time. The Lebanese government, which includes Hezbollah ministers, unanimously approved the resolution on Sunday. Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora described the amended document as 'a triumph for Lebanese diplomacy'. The Israeli government, with the exception of one minister, also voted in favour of the UN resolution.
UN rights body backs Israel probe (11.08.2006)
(Quelle: BBC) The United Nations Human Rights Council has voted to send a team to Lebanon to investigate alleged abuses by Israel. The council approved the resolution, proposed by a group of states led by Islamic countries, by 27 votes to 11. Many of the resolution's opponents criticised it for not mentioning Hezbollah attacks on Israel. Addressing the emergency session in Geneva, the UN's human rights chief, Louise Arbour, chided both sides for inflicting suffering on civilians.
Security Council votes unanimously for an end to hostilities in the Middle East (11.08.2006)
(Quelle: UN News) The Security Council voted tonight to halt the deadly conflict that has engulfed Lebanon and northern Israel for the past month, passing a resolution that calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities followed by the deployment of Lebanese troops and a significantly expanded United Nations peacekeeping presence across southern Lebanon as well as the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the same area. In a unanimous vote, conducted after weeks of intensive diplomacy with Secretary-General Kofi Annan pushing for action, the 15-member Council called for Hizbollah to stop all attacks immediately and for Israel to cease “all offensive military operations.”
Israelis authorize expansion of combat (10.08.2006)
(Quelle: Washington Post) On the deadliest day of fighting yet for Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, the Israeli security cabinet Wednesday authorized the military to expand ground combat operations to try to root out Hezbollah guerrillas who continued to mount fierce resistance. The cabinet debated military options during an acrimonious six-hour meeting that occasionally dissolved into shouting matches among members torn between the public's growing anger over the military's failure to stop Hezbollah rocket attacks and concerns that enlarging an already treacherous battlefield will result in high numbers of combat casualties, according to participants.
At U.N., France presses pullback of Israeli troops (10.08.2006)
(Quelle: Washington Post) France on Wednesday introduced elements of a draft resolution urging Israel to begin withdrawing thousands of troops from southern Lebanon 'at the earliest' possible date, as the United States warned that the next 24 hours are crucial because of Israel's threat to launch a ground invasion of Lebanon. … John R. Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and France's U.N. ambassador, Jean Marc de La Sablière, said that the two sides had made progress in talks Wednesday evening but that important differences remain.
"Militärische Aufgaben ausgeschlossen" (08.08.2006)
(Quelle: Die Welt) Der Staatsminister im Auswärtigen Amt, Gernot Erler (SPD), im WELT-Gespräch.
U.N. talks focus on terms of cease-fire (03.08.2006)
(Quelle: Washington Post) Lebanon's acting foreign minister, Tarek Mitri, said Wednesday he doubts that his government would agree to invite a European-led intervention force into southern Lebanon, citing fierce opposition from Hezbollah and its key foreign backers, Syria and Iran. … While U.S. and French officials reported progress in discussions on a U.N. resolution, diplomats said some key differences remained, including whether to call for an immediate end to the hostilities, as the French prefer, or only an end to offensive military operations, which the U.S. side advocates to allow Israel to defend itself. British diplomats appear to lean more toward the French phrasing.
France, UK, US seem closer to resolution (03.08.2006)
(Quelle: Irinnews) France, Britain and the United States edged closer to an agreement on Wednesday at the United Nations that would call for the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon, with a settlement potentially including the deployment of a multinational force.
Die Libanon-Resolutionen der UN (02.08.2006)
(Quelle: FAZ) Die Mitglieder des UN-Sicherheitsrats beraten in informellen Gesprächen über eine Nahost-Resolution und eine multinationale Truppe für den Südlibanon. Dabei nehmen die Diplomaten immer wieder Bezug auf frühere Libanon-Resolutionen des Rates.
Olmert says fighting will go on (02.08.2006)
(Quelle: BBC) Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that there will be no ceasefire in Lebanon until an international force is deployed in the south of the country. Mr Olmert said that if Israel stopped now and waited while peacekeepers were sent in, Hezbollah would seize the opportunity to stage yet more attacks.
UN Force extended for 1 month as Council mulls future action (31.07.2006)
(Quelle: UN News) The Security Council today extended for one month the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) while proposals for a new international presence in the violence-wracked region are considered. In a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council rolled over the mandate of the Force, first set up in 1978, “pending consideration of other options for future arrangements in South Lebanon.”
UN Council 'shocked' by Qana raid (31.07.2006)
(Quelle: BBC) The UN Security Council has expressed its 'shock and distress' at an Israeli attack in which 54 Lebanese civilians, many of them children, were killed. A statement agreed by all 15 members said the council 'strongly deplores this loss of innocent lives'. However, it did not call for an immediate truce as requested by the Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Australian troops quit S Lebanon (27.07.2006)
(Quelle: BBC) Australia is to withdraw a contingent of 12 troops from south Lebanon, due to the deaths of four UN observers. The soldiers will move to Beirut because the conflict zone is too dangerous, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson told reporters. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said there was no point in sending soldiers on a 'suicide mission'.
Chirac gegen Nato (27.07.2006)
(Quelle: taz) Frankreich hat die Einrichtung einer internationalen Friedenstruppe vorgeschlagen, die Libanons sämtliche Landgrenzen überwachen soll - also neben der israelisch-libanesischen Grenze auch die Grenze zwischen dem Libanon und Syrien. Die Truppe solle 'den Waffenstillstand überwachen und die Achtung der Grenzen sichern, natürlich sowohl der israelisch-libanesischen als auch der syrisch-libanesischen Grenze', sagte Präsident Jacques Chirac der Pariser Tageszeitung Le Monde. Eine Sicherung der syrisch-libanesischen Grenze zählt zu den Forderungen Israels, das auf diesem Wege Waffenlieferungen an die Hisbollah unterbinden will. Die Nato hält der Präsident allerdings für nicht geeignet, eine solche Friedenstruppe aufzustellen. Das Bündnis werde im Nahen Osten als 'bewaffneter Arm des Westens' gesehen.