United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

e 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 March 19, 1978, to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security, and help the Government of Lebanon restore its effective authority in the area.[1] Beginning in 1985, Israel scaled back its permanent positions in Lebanon, although this process was punctuated by brief invasions and bombings, as in Operation Accountability in 1993 and Operation Grapes of Wrath in 1996. In 1999, Israel undertook a withdrawal, which concluded in 2000 and enabled UNIFIL to resume its military tasks. The Lebanese government claims that the Shebaa farms area is Lebanese territory, although the UN considers it to be Syrian territory under Israeli military occupation. 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legal sanction to armed anti-Israeli groups in Lebanon (though the UN has officially certified that Israel has fully withdrawn from all areas it occupied after 1973).

Lebanese civil war
Saad Haddad (right) in a conversation with Norwegian Norbatt IV field priest major Ole Askvig Øgaard and other Norwegian UNIFIL personnel in a hotel in the Israeli town of Metula.

Prior to the 1982 Lebanon War on 2 January 1982, in which two Ghanaian soldiers guarding a UNIFIL position were attacked by unidentified persons and one of the soldiers was shot and subsequently died.[3] During the 1982 Lebanon War, UN positions were overrun, primarily by the SLA forces under Saad Haddad. This was the Lebanese paramilitary force supported by the IDF in Southern Lebanon.[4] The first UNIFIL troops were deployed in the area on March 23, 1978; these troops were reassigned from other UN peacekeeping operations in the area (namely the United Nations Emergency Force and the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force Zone).[1]

During the occupation, UNIFIL's function was mainly to provide humanitarian aid.[4]

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:

* January 31, 2006: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1655[5]
* July 31, 2006: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1697[6]
* August 11, 2006: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701[7]
Post-2006 war operations
UNIFIL base

UNIFIL is currently deployed in Southern Lebanon (south of the Litani River) and primarily along the United Nations-drawn Blue Line, which is the border between Israel and Lebanon. The force's activities have centered around monitoring military activity between Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces with the aim of reducing tensions and allaying tension along the border. UNIFIL has also played an important role in clearing landmines, assisting displaced persons and providing humanitarian assistance to civilians in the underdeveloped region of Southern Lebanon. Under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which passed as a result of the 2006 Lebanon War, its mandate and rules of engagement changed. The mandate changed to allow up to 15,000 personnel in order to assist the Lebanese Armed Forces in deploying in Southern Lebanon to implement the Lebanese government's sovereignty. The rules of engagement changed to allow the troops to open fire in certain cases: mostly in cases of self-defense but also in order to protect civilians, UN personnel and facilities.[2] 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 utilized for hostile activities of any kind.”[8] On August 27, 2006, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that UNIFIL would not intercept arms shipments from Syria, unless requested to do so by Lebanon.[9]
[edit] Maritime Task Force

After the 2006 Lebanon War, the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force (MTF) was established to assist the Lebanese Naval Forces in preventing the smuggling of illegal shipments in general and armament shipments in particular. With its establishment in October 2006, the force was led by the German Navy which was also the major contributor to the force.[10] The Germans lead the MTF up until February 29, 2008 when they passed control over to EUROMARFOR - a force made up of ships from Portugal, Spain, Italy and France (of which the latter three countries sent vessels to the force in Lebanon).[11][12] As of May 2008, the German Navy is still the biggest contributor to the UNIFIL MTF sending four vessels. These four vessels are complemented by two Italian, two Greek, one French, one Spanish, one Bulgarian and one Turkish vessel to comprise the 12-vessel UNIFIL Maritime Task Force.[12]
[edit] Personnel
C.I.S.S. humanitarian staff with Italian UNIFIL soldiers in Lebanon

As of April 30, 2008, UNIFIL employs 12,341 military personnel, supported by some 307 international civilian and 606 local civilian staff[13] and it is headed by Spanish Force Commander Major-General Alberto Asarta.[14]

To date UNIFIL has suffered 272 fatalities: 261 troops, two military observers, five international civilian staff, and four local staff.[14]
[edit] Concerns over UNIFIL presence and neutrality
[edit] Israeli concerns

UNIFIL has fallen out of favour with both Israel and Hezbollah. Israel has criticized the force for, amongst other things, maintaining a dialogue with Hezbollah, which it views as a terrorist organization, for treating Israeli and Lebanese (and more specifically, Hezbollah) violations of security council resolution 1701 equally, while Israel views its violations of Lebanese airspace as less severe than Lebanese violations including crossings of the blue line and rocket launchings. UNIFIL was accused of complicity in the fatal abduction of IDF soldiers in October 2000, and Israel further blamed it for obstructing its investigation by denying the existence of and then once the existence was leaked, refusing to supply videos of the attack for several months.[15][16]

Prior to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon 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 Lebanese Armed Forces along the border).[17]

UNIFIL also came under criticism during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict for broadcasting detailed reports of Israeli troop movements, numbers, and positions on their website which "could have exposed Israeli soldiers to grave danger", while making no such reports about Hezbollah.[18]
[edit] Hezbollah concerns

Hezbollah supporters have accused UNIFIL of siding with Israel, especially since the passage of Resolution 1701 which they view as one-sided. On October 16, 2006 Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah declared that the UN force had “come to protect Israel, not Lebanon”.[citation needed]
[edit] 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.[19] 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."[20]
[edit] Combat-related incidents

* On July 17, a UNIFIL international staff member and his wife were killed when Israeli aircraft bombed the Hosh District of Tyre, Lebanon.
* On July 23, Hezbollah fire wounded an Italian observer.
* On July 25, Hezbollah opened small arms fire at a UNIFIL convoy, forcing it to retreat.
* On July 25, four soldiers from the Ghanaian battalion were lightly injured after an Israeli tank shell hit a UNIFIL position during fighting in Southern Lebanon on 24 July 2006.[21]
* Shrapnel from tank shells fired by the IDF seriously wounded an Indian soldier on 16 July 2006[22]
* On 25 July 2006 four UNTSO observers from Austria, Canada, China and Finland were killed by Israeli strikes on an OGL patrol base near Khiam in southern Lebanon. According to the UN, the Israelis claimed to be responding to "Hezbollah fire from that vicinity" and the four had taken shelter in a bunker under the post. The area around the site was hit by a precision guided bomb from an Israeli jet and shelled a total of 14 times by Israeli artillery[23] throughout the day despite warning calls made by UN personnel to the IDF.[24] However, General Alain Pellegrini, then commander of UNIFIL, claims that he attempted to call Israeli officials "five or six times", but never got past their secretaries. Later, Israeli artillery shelling resumed as a rescue team tried to clear the rubble.[25]
* On 29 July, two Indian soldiers were wounded when their post was damaged during an Israeli airstrike in Southern Lebanon.
* On 6 August, a Hezbollah rocket hit the headquarters of the Chinese UNIFIL contingent, wounding three Chinese soldiers.
* On 12 August, a Ghanian soldier was wounded when Israeli artillery shelled the area near the village of Haris.
* On 14 August, Israeli aircraft fired two missiles onto a Palestinian faction in Saida, killing UN staff member Abdel Sagir.

[edit] Reinforcements
Italian Soldier on guard during UNIFIL
Search Wikinews Wikinews has related news: France offers promised 2000 soldiers to the UN in Lebanon

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 [26], in addition to the forces deployed in Opération Baliste. Italy will send 3,000 troops.[27]Qatar will send between 200 and 300 troops. [28]

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.

Indonesian contingent has received 12 VAB(Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé) on February 17, 2007, as the part of the second wave of shipment from the agreement between the French and Indonesian governments. Amongst the equipments sent with the second wave of VABs are 10 tool boxes (pioneering equipment), 10 armored vehicle radio communications unit, HMG (Heavy Machine Gun) shooter shield, and 40 water jerrycans.[29]
[edit] Incidents involving Israeli planes

On the 3 October 2006, an Israeli fighter penetrated the 2-nautical-mile (3.7 km) defence perimeter of the French frigate Courbet, triggering a diplomatic incident. Israel apologised after official protests from the French government [30][31].

On 24 October, six Israeli F-16s flew over a German vessel patrolling off Israel's coast just south of the Lebanese border. The German Defence Ministry said that the planes had given off infrared decoys and one of the aircraft had fired two shots into the air, which had not been specifically aimed. The Israeli military said that a German helicopter took off from the vessel without having coordinated this with Israel, and denied vehemently having fired any shots at the vessel and said "as of now" it also had no knowledge of the jets launching flares over it. Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz telephoned his German counterpart Franz Josef Jung to clarify that 'Israel has no intention to carry out any aggressive actions' against the German peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, who are there as part of UNIFIL to enforce an arms embargo against Hezbollah. Germany confirmed the consultations, and that both sides were interested in maintaining good cooperation.[32][33][34]

On 31 October 2006, eight Israeli F-15s flew over many areas of Lebanon, including Beirut.[35][36] The IAF jets also flew over a French peacekeeper position in Lebanon. According to the French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, the planes came in at what was interpreted as an attack formation, and the peacekeepers were "seconds away" from firing at the jets with an anti aircraft missile.[37]

In a report to the Security Council, Annan reported that there were no serious incidents or confrontations, but that peacekeepers reported Israeli flyovers "almost on a daily basis". Israel claimed that the flyovers were to prevent Hezbollah from receiving arms shipments from Syria or Iran.[38]

General Alain Pellegrini warned that the Israeli flyovers violated the cease fire, and threatened the use of force.
[edit] Post-conflict situation

On 24 June 2007, six UNIFIL soldiers (three Colombians and three Spanish) were killed after their vehicle was hit by an explosive device; two others (both Spanish) were injured in the incident.[39] No group has yet admitted responsibility. The Israeli military believed the attack to be the work of al-Qaeda/Global Jihad members.[40]

On January 8, 2008 a roadside bomb injured two Irish UNIFIL soldiers 35 km south of Beirut.[41]

On March 30, 2008 the UNIFIL patrol, following a suspicious pickup truck that was towing a trailer in the western sector of UNIFIL's area of operations, was blocked by two other vehicles with five armed persons. According to the UNIFIL spokeswoman Yasmina Bouzianne, the patrol challenged the armed people who left the area after about three minutes before a positive identification could be made.[42]

The Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Ambassador Dan Carmon, met with UNIFIL commander, Maj.-Gen. Claudio Graziano, on 15 August 2008, after Israel was accused of unilaterally violating United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 by the almost daily overflights of Lebanese airspace, the continued occupation of the village of Ghajar and Israel's refusal to submit maps of areas on which it dropped cluster munitions during the 2006 Lebanese war.[43]