UNIFIL set to expand role in Lebanon after truce, U.N. announces

The United Nations intends to bolster its peacekeeping mission in Lebanon to better support the Lebanese army once a truce is agreed but would not directly enforce a ceasefire, U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on Thursday.

The peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL is deployed in southern Lebanon to monitor the demarcation line with Israel, an area that has seen more than a year of hostilities between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters.

Diplomatic efforts to end the fighting have centred on U.N. resolution 1701, which ended the last round of conflict between the two heavily-armed foes in 2006 and requires Hezbollah to remove fighters and weapons from areas between the border and the Litani River, which runs about 30 km (around 20 miles) from Lebanon's southern border.

Israel has for years accused UNIFIL of failing to implement the resolution, and now says peacekeepers must get out of the way as Israeli troops fight Hezbollah. UNIFIL troops have refused to leave their posts, despite repeated Israeli attacks that have wounded peacekeepers.

"I think that has to be very clear. Implementing the 1701 is the responsibility of the parties," said Lacroix, speaking to reporters on a three-day visit to Lebanon. "UNIFIL has a supportive role, and there is a lot of substance in that supporting role."

Lacroix said the peacekeeping mission would work with the Lebanese army to "support the implementation of a settlement" and was already in discussions with contributing nations to assess UNIFIL's needs, including with advanced technology, without necessarily increasing troop numbers.

Following a truce, UNIFIL's capacities could be expanded to include clearing explosive devices and reopening roads.

"We don't necessarily think in terms of numbers, we think in terms of what would be the needs and how could they be fulfilled," he said.

Lacroix said the U.N. and several member states have repeatedly called on all parties to ensure the safety of peacekeepers and that while incidents had not stopped, they had not increased following international condemnation.