Graziano voices total commitment to terms of 1701

 

The commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) stressed on Thursday that his troops will “never be distracted from is main goal: that of preserving peace and stability in South Lebanon.” “Past incidents will not discourage us or prevent us from pursuing our duties and implementing UN [Security Council] Resolution 1701 in association with the Lebanese Army,” Major General Claudio Graziano said during a ceremony at the headquarters of UNIFIL”s Qatari contingent in Tebnin, eastern Tyre.

 

“We will exert all our efforts and use all the authority provided to us to have the 1701 fully implemented,” he added.

 

On January 8, two Irish UN peacekeepers were slightly wounded when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb near the village of Rmeileh, south of Beirut and not far from the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, a hotbed for Islamist militant groups.

 

It was the third attack on the 13,500-strong UNIFIL since it was expanded in line with UN Resolution 1701.

 

Six Spanish UN soldiers were killed when a bomb destroyed their armored troop carrier on June 24 of last year.

 

Also Thursday, the Qatari contigent organized a farewell ceremony for the battalion”s “duty troop,” which will be leaving Lebanon shortly.
 

The event was attended by a representative of the Lebanese Army, Brigadier general Wafiq Hammoud, as well as representatives from the UNIFIL contingents and mayors of the Tyre and Bint Jbeil regions.

 

Graziano saluted efforts exerted by the Qatari peacekeepers to preserve calm and stability in the South. He also decorated departing Qatari soldiers with peace medals.

 

Originally, UNIFIL was created by the Security Council in 1978 to confirm the Israelis” withdrawal from Lebanon after their invasion of that year, restore peace and security and assist the Lebanese government in restoring its effective authority in the area.

 

Following the 2006 war, the council enhanced the force and its original mandate. UNIFIL would, among other things, monitor the cessation of hostilities, accompany and support the Lebanese Armed Forces as they deployed throughout the South and extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to the civilian population and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons.

 

In a speech last week, Graziano said UNIFIL “witnessed some very difficult moments in the past 30 years … but very good times too. A number of challenges still await us and it is not time for resting.”