The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved a final extension of the long-standing peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, continuing it through the end of 2026.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), established in 1978, patrols Lebanon's southern border with Israel, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
The 15-member council on Thursday unanimously adopted a French-drafted resolution after a compromise was reached with the United States, a veto-wielding council.
The Security Council decided "to extend for a final time the mandate of UNIFIL."
The resolution "requests UNIFIL to cease its operations on 31 December 2026 and to start from this date and within one year its orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal of its personnel, in close consultation with the Government of Lebanon with the aim of making Lebanon Government the sole provider of security in southern Lebanon."
This will be the last time the United States will support an extension of UNIFIL, said acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea.
"The security environment in Lebanon is radically different than just one year ago, creating the space for Lebanon to assume greater responsibility," she told the council.
UNIFIL's mandate was expanded in 2006, following a month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah, to allow peacekeepers to help the Lebanese army keep parts of the south free of weapons or armed personnel other than those of the Lebanese state.
That has sparked friction with Hezbollah, which effectively controls southern Lebanon despite the presence of the Lebanese army.
The US is now seeking to promote a plan for Hezbollah's disarmament.
Washington is linking the plan to a phased Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, while also promoting a US- and Gulf-backed economic development zone in Lebanon's south aimed at reducing Hezbollah's reliance on Iranian funding.
Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the extension, noting that it "reiterates the call for Israel to withdraw its forces from the five sites it continues to occupy, and affirms the necessity of extending state authority over all its territory."
