UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon continuing mission, preparing for different scenarios: Official

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The UN official for peace operations confirmed on Thursday that the peacekeeping force in Lebanon continues to carry out its mission.

"UNIFIL (UN Interim Force in Lebanon) peacekeepers feel duty bound to continue," Jean-Pierre Lacroix, under-secretary-general for peace operations, told reporters during a news conference at UN headquarters in New York.

Sharing that there are 10,058 peacekeepers in Lebanon, Lacroix said UNIFIL forces "feel duty born to the mandate given to them by the Security Council. But they obviously also feel duty born to the population of southern Lebanon."

Despite the challenges, he said the peacekeeping mission is continuing its tasks, confirming that "contingency plans all-ready, and they're constantly updated."

"Obviously, we've been preparing several second scenario in case of deterioration, all the way to the worst possible scenario, which would lead, hopefully not to partial total evacuation," he added.

Lacroix stressed that due to the ongoing hostilities "it is very difficult to assess exactly how things will evolve."

Asked about how UNIFIL intends to protect the civilian population in Lebanon, Lacroix said "the peacekeepers would do everything in their power to protect the population," without giving further details.

While cross-border warfare between Hezbollah and Israel began after the Gaza conflict last October, Israel launched heavy airstrikes on Sept. 23 on what it called Hezbollah targets across Lebanon. Besides assassinating Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several other commanders, Israel has killed more than 1,100 people and displaced tens of thousands of others.