UN peacekeepers patrol Lebanon-Israel border

Описание: (23 Sep 2019) LEAD IN:
Irish troops, as part of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon, are patrolling the Lebanon-Israel border in a bid to maintain peace.
Maroun el-Ras has recently witnessed the latest escalation between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters.

STORY-LINE:
The Lebanon-Israel border is mostly calm with the UN peacekeeping troops patrolling the border.
The area, Maroun el-Ras, recently witnessed the latest escalation between Hezbollah and Israel.
Just three weeks ago, the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group fired a barrage of anti-tank missiles into Israel, triggering Israeli artillery fire.
It came after Hezbollah vowed to retaliate for an Israeli airstrike that killed two Hezbollah operatives in Syria and an Israeli drone strike on the group's stronghold south of Beirut in late August.
The exchange lasted about two hours and hit these fields near the border village of Maroun el-Ras and the nearby village of Yaroun.
No one was hurt but the message was clear.
"The recent incidents in this area have shown us that the situation is stable at the moment but still volatile," explains Andrea Tenenti, a spokesperson for the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
"There is work that needs to be done with the parties to ensure stability in the south but also to be able to move from cessation of hostilities to a permanent ceasefire."
"At the moment we are still under cessation of hostilities, the two countries are still at war and the last 13 years we have been able to preserve stability in coordination with the parties."
Maroun El-Ras witnessed some of the most intense battles between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters during the 34-day war they fought in 2006.
"The recent incident on the 1st of September clearly shows that there is a presence of weapons in the south of Lebanon and the incident was claimed by Hezbollah," explains Tenenti.
"The work of the mission, together with the Lebanese army, is to ensure that the south of Lebanon remains free of any weapons, only weapons of the Lebanese army and UNIFIL are authorised in the south.
"We are patrolling the area of operation 24/7, we have over 450 activities per day in the area of operation - foot patrols, vehicles patrols, air patrols, night patrols."
"And despite the recent incidents, the last 13 years south of Lebanon has witnessed one of its quietest period in recent history."
UNIFIL was originally created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops after a 1978 invasion of Lebanon.
The mission was expanded after a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah militants so peacekeepers could deploy along the Lebanon-Israel border, to help Lebanese troops extend their authority into their country's south for the first time in decades.
Following the ceasefire in 2006 war, the number of UNIFIL troops was increased to 15,000 troops with heavy equipment from 44 countries but has since been reduced to 10,500 personnel.

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