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United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Palmiro (talk | contribs) at 20:58, 17 October 2006 (→Debate over UNIFIL presence and neutrality: what the source actually says; remove unsupported and possibly partisan statement). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
File:Sisu XA-180 Lebanon.jpg
A Sisu XA-180 used by Swedish UNIFIL forces in Lebanon

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, was created by the United Nations, with the adoption of Security Council Resolution 425 and 426 on 19 March 1978, to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore the international peace and security, and help the Lebanese Government restore its effective authority in the area.[1] The first UNIFIL troops arrived in the area on 23 March 1978; these troops were reassigned from other UN peacekeeping operations in the area (namely UNEF and UNDOF).[1]

During the 1982 Lebanon War, U.N. positions were overrun, primarily by the “de facto” forces under Saad Haddad. These were the indigenous Lebanese forces supported by the IDF.[2] During the occupation, UNIFIL's function was mainly to provide humanitarian aid.[2] Beginning in 1985, Israel scaled back its permanent positions in Lebanon, although this process was punctuated by brief invasions and bombings, as in the 1993 Operation Accountability and the 1996 Operation Grapes of Wrath. In 1999, it undertook a full withdrawal, which concluded in 2000 and enabled UNIFIL to resume its military tasks. The Lebanese government claims that the Shebaa Farms area, which Israel and others in the international community view as part of the Golan Heights, is Lebanese territory. They contend that this dispute gives continued legal sanction to armed anti-Israeli groups in Lebanon (though the UN has officially certified that Israel has fully withdrawn from all areas it occupied after 1973). The UN Security Council has extended UNIFIL's mandate until August 31, 2007.[3]

Mandate

UNIFIL is tasked with achieving the following objectives:

  • Confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon;
  • Restore international peace and security;
  • Assist the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area.

Mandating resolutions by the United Nations have been:

Current operation

UNIFIL is currently primarily deployed along the U.N. drawn Blue Line dividing Israel (and the disputed Golan Heights) and southern Lebanon. Its activities have centred around monitoring military activity between Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) with the aim of reducing tensions and allaying continuing low-level armed conflict. UNIFIL has also played an important role in clearing landmines, assisting displaced persons, and providing humanitarian assistance in this underdeveloped region. It is to be reinforced with up to 15,000 personnel and a tougher UN mandate under a UN resolution to halt the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, and operate alongside Lebanese forces. The new resolution states that UNIFIL can "take all the necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces, and as it deems with its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilised for hostile activities of any kind."[7] On 27 August 2006 Kofi Annan said that UNIFIL would not intercept arms shipments from Syria, unless requested to do so by the Lebanese Government.[8]

Troop status

DAF YP 408 used by UNIFIL (photographed in Havelte, Netherlands).

As of 30 April 2006 UNIFIL employed 1991 soldiers, some 50 UNTSO observers and 390 civilians.[9] Its annual budget is about US$100 million. UNIFIL is currently led by French Major General Alain Pellegrini, formerly French military attaché in Beirut and head of the Middle East Division of the French military intelligence.

To date UNIFIL has suffered 261 fatalities (of which 12 civilians) during the course of its deployment.

Debate over UNIFIL presence and neutrality

UNIFIL has fallen out of favour with both Israel and Hezbollah. Israel has criticized the force for, inter alia, maintaining a dialogue with Hezbollah, having positions adjacent to those of Hezbollah, serving as a pretext for non-deployment of the Lebanese army in the South, and for treating Israeli and Hezbollah ceasefire breaches equally.[10]

Prior to the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict of July 2006, Israel had been lobbying for UNIFIL to either take a more active role vis-a-vis Hezbollah (for example, preventing Hezbollah from stationing near UNIFIL posts to fire at the IDF and into Northern Israel), or to step out of the region (thereby voiding the Lebanese government's excuse for not deploying its army along the border).[11]

With the eruption of open warfare, UNIFIL's utility has been called into question over accusations that it has failed to fulfill the terms of its mandate. There is currently some debate over the need for a replacement UN Peacekeeping force. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has also asked the UN to enforce UN Resolution 1559, which calls for "the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias," as one of its prime considerations in accepting a cease-fire. UNIFIL did not seek Hezbollah's disarmament. Similarly, after the cease-fire ending the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict UNIFIL disavowed any responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, despite the fact that disarmament of Hezbollah was one of the terms of UN Resolution 1701 enacted to reach the cease-fire.

UNIFIL has been accused of siding with Israel, accusations which have become more common in milieus associated with Hezbollah since the passage of Resolution 1701; thus on 16 October 2006 Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah declared that the UN force had "come to protect Israel, not Lebanon". [12].

The participation of Turkish troops in the reinforced UNIFIL in 2006 has also been controversial in Lebanon, where the Armenian community has vigorously protested against it.

Conflict in 2006

See also: Attacks on United Nations personnel during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

According to UNIFIL press releases, there have been dozens of such incidents of UN posts coming under fire during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.[13] In his 21 July 2006 report about the UNIFIL activities 21 January-18 July 2006, the UN Secretary-General stated that "Some Hezbollah positions remained in close proximity to United Nations positions, especially in the Hula area, posing a significant security risk to United Nations personnel and equipment."[14]

  • An Israeli tank shell hit a UNIFIL position in southern Lebanon on Monday 24 July 2006, wounding four Ghananian soldiers. UNIFIL engineers from China repaired a road connecting Tyre and Naqoura previously destroyed by the Israelis.[15]
  • Shrapnel from tank shells fired by the IDF seriously wounded an Indian soldier on 16 July 2006[16]
  • On 25 July 2006 four UN peacekeepers from Austria, Canada, China and Finland were killed when an Israeli aerial bomb struck a UN observation post in southern Lebanon. According to the UN, the four had taken shelter in a bunker under the post. The area around the site was shelled a total of 14 times by Israeli artillery[17] throughout the day despite communication[18] via telephone between the UN liaison and the IDF. Later, a rescue team was also shelled[19] as it tried to clear the rubble.

Conflict with Arab forces

  • Hezbollah fire wounded an Italian OGL observer on the border on Sunday 23 July.[20]
  • Hezbollah opened small-arms fire on a UNIFIL convoy on the road between Kunin and Bint Jbail causing damage to the APC's but no casualties.[21]

Reinforcements

Wikinews has related news:

Following the cease-fire, the UNIFIL will receive vast reinforcement, up to 15 000 men, and heavy equipment. France is committed to increase her complement from 400 to 2 000 men and send Leclerc heavy tanks and AMX 30 AuF1 self-propelled artillery [4], in addition to the forces deployed in Opération Baliste. Italy will send 3000 troops.[5] Qatar will send between 200 and 300 troops. [6]

A naval component of UNIFIL is being set up to assist the Lebanese Navy preventing arms proliferation to Hezbollah. This force is under the command of a German admiral with the majority of vessels being provided by the German Navy.

Countries involved

The following countries have either committed troops, are currently active in UNIFIL, or have offered support to UNIFIL in some way. Countries in bold were part of the original UNIFIL force.

Country Committed Forces (estimated*) Support Roles
 Belgium 394[22][23] de-miners, medical and reconstruction teams[23]
 Brunei 100[24][25]
 Bulgaria 160[26]
ChinaChina, People’s Republic of 1,000[27][28] 200 engineers currently in Lebanon clearing mines and unexploded ordnance[29]
 Denmark 50[22][30] 2 patrol boats as force protection for German contingent
 Finland 250[22][31] reconstructing roads, bridges and other infrastructure destroyed[32]
France France 2,000[33][34] ground troops including 13 French Leclerc tanks[35]; in charge of UNIFIL ground forces until February 2007[36].
In addition, French Navy ships with 1,700 men are deployed off Lebanon in Opération Baliste, and assisting in UNIFIL operations.
 Germany 2,400[37][38] naval ships to secure the Lebanese coast and prevent arms smuggling[37][38]
Ghana Ghana
 Greece 176-196 Elli-class frigate, the HS Kanaris, to patrol against arms smugglers[39]
India India 672[40][41]
 Indonesia 1,000[42][43] combat units, an engineering unit and logistics specialists[42]
Republic of Ireland Ireland 150[32][44] perimeter protection for Finnish troops[32]
Italy Italy 3,000[33][34] ground troops; will assume charge of UNIFIL ground forces in February 2007[45]
 Malaysia 360[46][47] Administrative(200) and patrol/quick reaction team(160; including commandos and special forces);
   Nepal 850[48][49] infantry battalion[48][49]
 Netherlands 150[50] M-class frigate[50]
 Norway 100[50]

[51]

naval ships to secure the Lebanese coast and prevent arms smuggling[50]
Poland Poland 500[52][22]
 Russia 400[38][53] rebuilding infrastructure[38]
 Spain 1,000[33][54] "help speed up the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory", de-mining and beach cleaning[55]
 Sweden 40[22][56] 1 Göteborg class corvette
 Turkey
Ukraine Ukraine 1[41]
Total 13,817

* Because the troop figures come from second hand sources, the exact numbers can not be accurately verified. In most cases the sources round and/or estimate the figures to the closet proximity.

Quotes

  • "UNIFIL, I'm afraid, is a joke. They’ve been there for 26 years and since then, there have been so many skirmishes [along the border]." - former Israeli ambassador Itamar Rabinovich 20 July 2006 [57]
  • "We didn’t like very much UNIFIL which was very useless and very helpless. Look what happened. Did you hear of any particular efforts of the United Nations UNIFIL force in the south of Lebanon to prevent the attacks against Israel in the first place. So they were not useful and that is why we were unhappy with them." Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, August 2, 2006[58]
  • " UNIFIL came here in 1978. We were, because at that time there was no Hezbollah here, accused of being sympathetic to Palestinians. A peacekeeping force does not come here with pre-set enemies. There is no enemy [inaudible] in a peacekeeping force. UNIFIL is a peacekeeping force. It's not a Israeli combat force or an anti-terror force, as they would like it to be. As long as we don't serve their direct interests, they are going to denigrate it as much as they can." Timur Goksel, former spokeman of the UNIFIL, July 26, 2006 [59]

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Extracts relating to Article 98 of the Charter of the United Nations: Supplement No 5 (1970 - 1978)" (Template:PDFlink). Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs. United Nations. pp. §275–279. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
  2. ^ a b "Extracts relating to Article 98 of the Charter of the United Nations: Supplement No 6 (1979 - 1984)" (Template:PDFlink). Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs. United Nations. pp. §185–§199. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
  3. ^ BBC News Text: UN Lebanon resolution Accessed August 12, 2006
  4. ^ United Nations, January 31, 2006 Security Council extends UN force in Lebanon until 31 July, unanimously adopting Resolution 1655 (2006) Accessed August 12, 2006
  5. ^ "Resolution 1697 (2006)" (Press release). United Nations Security Council. July 31, 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-12. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ United Nations August 11, 2006 SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR END TO HOSTILITIES BETWEEN HIZBOLLAH, ISRAEL, UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTING RESOLUTION 1701 (2006) Accessed August 12, 2006
  7. ^ Times Online August 12, 2006 UN plans for 15,000 peacekeepers as Israel expands ground offensive - World - Times Online Accessed August 13, 2006
  8. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/08/27/wleb27.xml
  9. ^ United Nations, Peace and Security Section of the Department of Public Information Lebanon - UNIFIL - Facts and Figures
  10. ^ Haaretz 11/09/2005 Israel accuses UN of collaborating with Hezbollah
  11. ^ Haaretz, 9 November 2005 Israel accuses UN of collaborating with Hezbollah
  12. ^ "Fadlallah : La Finul est là pour protéger Israël et non le Liban" L'Orient-Le Jour, 17 October 2006
  13. ^ United Nations UNIFIL press releases
  14. ^ See paragraph 28 in Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (S/2006/560) Accessed 31 July 2206
  15. ^ http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/pr09.pdf UNIFIL Press Release, Naqoura, 25 July 2006
  16. ^ http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/pr01.pdf UNIFIL Press Release, Naqoura, 17 July 2006
  17. ^ UNIFIL Untitled Press Release 26 July 2006
  18. ^ Telegraph, Telegraph (UK) Article, 27 July 2006
  19. ^ Reuters, Alertnet 26 July 2006
  20. ^ "Israeli strike kills four UN soldiers". Al Jazeera. 2006-07-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also UNIFIL Press Release, Naqoura, 24 July 2006 http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/pr08.pdf
  21. ^ See UNIFIL Press Release, Naqoura, 25 July 2006 http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/pr09.pdf
  22. ^ a b c d e Asian Tribune U.N. Force Looks More European, Less Multinational Accessed September 14, 2006
  23. ^ a b Expatica Communications Two Belgian generals to serve on Lebanon mission[1] Accessed September 14, 2006
  24. ^ Brudirect.com News Brunei Troops To Join Malaysia In Lebanon Accessed September 14, 2006
  25. ^ Daily Express Accord on Trans-Borneo Highway Accessed September 14, 2006
  26. ^ Naharnet Bulgaria Approves Sending 160-Crew Frigate to Lebanon Accessed September 30, 2006
  27. ^ MonstersandCritics.com Lebanon latest hotspot as China deploys peacekeepers Accessed September 14, 2006
  28. ^ Haaretz China to send as many as 1,000 peackeeping troops to Lebanon Accessed September 14, 2006
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference H was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ Danish Navy 2 missilfartøjer men ingen korvet til Libanon Accessed October 2, 2006
  31. ^ Helsingin Sanomat President approves Lebanon force Accessed September 14, 2006
  32. ^ a b c Herald Tribune Ireland to deploy 150 troops to United Nations force in Lebanon Accessed September 14, 2006
  33. ^ a b c EiTB24 Italian troops land in Lebanon strengthening renewed UNIFIL Accessed September 14, 2006
  34. ^ a b FrontPageMagazine.com Making the Ceasefire Stick Accessed September 14, 2006
  35. ^ openDemocracy.net French Tanks Give Teeth to U.N. Force Accessed September 14, 2006
  36. ^ Forbes France in Lebanon: the strength of hesitation Accessed September 14, 2006
  37. ^ a b MonstersandCritics.com Germany sends troops to Lebanon Accessed September 14, 2006
  38. ^ a b c d China Daily Germany oks Lebanon mission Accessed September 14, 2006
  39. ^ "Greece begins its peacekeeping drive in Lebanon: Frigate has orders to fire if need be". Kathimerini. 2006-09-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "url:http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100004_09/09/2006_74016" ignored (help)
  40. ^ IndianMuslims.info India to keep existing troops in UNIFIL for 'time being' Accessed September 14, 2006
  41. ^ a b Raw Story Media, Inc. UN opens meeting on Lebanon troops Accessed September 14, 2006
  42. ^ a b Raw Story Media, Inc. Indonesian soldiers off to Lebanon in late September Accessed September 14, 2006
  43. ^ Helsingin Sanomat Indonesian leader praises Finns for contribution to Aceh peace process Accessed September 14, 2006
  44. ^ The Irish Times 150 Irish troops to join UN interim force in Lebanon Accessed September 14, 2006
  45. ^ ANSA Peacekeepers need political support Accessed September 14, 2006
  46. ^ Bernama.com[2]
  47. ^ Malaysia's Prime Minister's Office[3]
  48. ^ a b Islamic Republic News Agency Nepal to send 850 troops to war torn Lebanon Accessed September 14, 2006
  49. ^ a b PeaceJournalism.com Annan Ends his Visit to Beirut after Touring War-Ravaged South Lebanon Accessed September 14, 2006
  50. ^ a b c d Netherlands Ministry of Defence NEDERLANDS MARINESCHIP NAAR LIBANON Accessed October 2, 2006 Cite error: The named reference "M" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  51. ^ Sending MTBs Accessed October 2, 2006
  52. ^ Raw Story Media, Inc. Poland to boost Lebanon UNIFIL force to 500 troops Accessed September 14, 2006
  53. ^ Syrian Arab News Agency Russia Sends 400 Soldiers to Lebanon Accessed September 14, 2006
  54. ^ People's Daily Online Spanish troops hope to help speed up Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon Accessed September 14, 2006
  55. ^ Daily Star Western envoys discuss deployments to UNIFIL Accessed September 14, 2006
  56. ^ Swedish armed forces HMS Gävle på väg søderut Accessed October 2, 2006
  57. ^ NPR.org Mass Exodus Continues as Lebanon Seeks Aid
  58. ^ Times Online (UK) The Times interview with Ehud Olmert: full transcript Accessed August 3, 2006
  59. ^ Democracy Now!, Kofi Annan Says Israel's Fatal Attack on UN Force in Lebanon was "Apparently Deliberate"; Longtime UN Official Says Israel Knew Site Was UN Base

See also

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to UNIFIL.
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