UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday proposed a new force for southern Lebanon after the eventual withdrawal of Unifil.
In a letter to the Security Council, Mr Guterres said a continued peacekeeping presence would be necessary to monitor the Israel-Lebanon border, support the Lebanese army and help prevent renewed conflict.
He outlined three possible options for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, or Unifil, ranging from a force of about 1,500 personnel to more than 5,500 troops and military observers.
“Under all proposed options, a uniformed United Nations presence working to facilitate de-escalation, dialogue, liaison and co-ordination, and support for the Lebanese Armed Forces, would be necessary ... towards the overarching objective of a long-term solution to the conflict,” Mr Guterres wrote.
The proposals come as Israel and Hezbollah remain locked in their most serious confrontation in nearly two decades, raising questions about the future of the UN mission that has monitored the border since the end of the 2006 war.
The first option would establish an unarmed military observer presence of 350 personnel supported by four infantry battalions totalling 3,000-armed troops and a 700-member reserve force.
According to the letter seen by The National, this “would have the capacity to most credibly observe developments along the length of the Blue Line and up to the Litani River".
A second option would post 285 military observers, two infantry battalions totalling 1,500 troops and a 450-member reserve force.
This would focus on the area between the Litani River and the Blue Line, and would have “capacity to directly monitor some of the Blue Line through its physical presence, including from static observation posts and through patrols".
The third and smallest option would consist of 215 military observers, two light infantry battalions of 450 troops each and a 350-member quick-reaction force.
Under that arrangement, the UN would monitor developments along the Blue Line and several kilometres north of it, but “the entirety of the Blue Line could not be monitored on a continuous basis without necessary technological capacity”, the letter said.
Mr Guterres noted that Israeli forces continue to occupy positions north of the Blue Line, and said a future UN mission would help verify and monitor their withdrawal.
He also called for greater international support to Lebanon’s army to help the government establish a “state monopoly over weapons”, echoing longstanding international demands for the disarmament of non-state armed groups including Hezbollah.
“These efforts continue to be vital in creating a conducive environment towards a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution to the conflict,” he noted.
Unifil comprises about 7,500 peacekeepers from nearly 50 countries posted along the 120km Blue Line, the UN-demarcated frontier separating Lebanon and Israel.
