Lebanon – UN mission Unifil gets caught between the front lines

A Unifil armored personnel carrier in southern Lebanon (AFP / RABIH DAHER)

Why was the mission established?

On March 19, 1978, the UN Security Council approved the mandate for the operation. Blue helmets were supposed to monitor the withdrawal of the Israeli army from southern Lebanon. This came into possession of the area after an attack by the Palestinian organization Fatah. Despite the presence of United Nations soldiers, clashes have occurred repeatedly in the border region. The mission’s mandate has been extended several times over nearly five decades. Since the mission began, hundreds of so-called blue helmet soldiers have died.

Which countries are participating?

More than 10,000 UN soldiers from more than 50 countries are involved in the mission, including 300 Bundeswehr soldiers. Many UN troops come from Indonesia, Italy and India, among others.

What are the tasks of the mission – and how do the soldiers manage to implement them?

The peacekeeping force is supposed to protect the border between Israel and Lebanon. But given the heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, he is increasingly unable to do justice to this task. Recently, patrols in the border area had to be suspended due to the increased risk to UN soldiers. The soldiers went back to the bases. Some civilian employees of the peacekeeping mission were sent with their relatives further into the country, where the danger was lower, it was said. The fact that Israeli shelling also hit the UN headquarters in Lebanon shows how involved Unifil is in the conflict.

And the defense of the maritime borders, which has been part of the mission since 2006 and where Unifil troops are supposed to support the Lebanese army to prevent arms smuggling by sea, is only succeeding to a limited extent. The observer force is not allowed to intervene in the event of violations, but can only inform the Lebanese army.

One reason the mission will continue anyway is that Unifil maintains communications between Israel and Lebanon – and communicates indirectly with Hezbollah through the Lebanese side.

How does Israel view the mission?

It seems that Israel would prefer to end the Unifil mission. Irish President Higgins, whose country is supplying more than 300 UN soldiers, criticized the Israeli army for threatening the peacekeepers and calling for their evacuation. Israel is demanding that the entire Unifil mission leave the border area.

A statement from the United Nations said all peacekeeping troops remained at their posts and the UN flag continued to fly. We will continue to help mitigate the situation in the future.

This message was sent on October 11, 2024 on the Deutschlandfunk program.