BEIRUT, Mar 22 (NNN-NNA) – Head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Aroldo Lazaro Saenz, called on Lebanon and Israel, to make “meaningful steps” towards sustainable peace, a UNIFIL statement reported yesterday.
“The end-goal of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 is a permanent ceasefire and a sustainable peace, and the efforts of the parties should be geared towards the same end-goal,” Lazaro said, during a ceremony held at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, to mark the 44th anniversary of the UN mission’s establishment.
Lazaro added that, “UNIFIL will continue to work to create the conditions for this to happen, together with government authorities, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), local leaders, and the people in the communities, in which we live and work.”
UNIFIL was first established in 1978, to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. After the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, UNIFIL’s mandate was expanded to monitor the cessation of hostilities, and to accompany the deployment of Lebanese armed forces throughout southern Lebanon, as Israel withdraws its troops.– NNN-NNA
