The UN Security Council unanimously decided on Wednesday to extend the peacekeeping operation, called Unifil, in Lebanon by one year. A unanimous Security Council chose to extend the mandate due to the significantly deteriorated security situation in the Middle East.
Unifil has been operational since 1978, and over 10,000 peacekeeping soldiers and personnel have served in Unifil since then. The operation was reinforced after the war between Israel and the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah in 2006; ongoing clashes between Hezbollah and Israel now strengthen the need for the UN's presence, the Security Council noted.
In the resolution, the importance of respecting the so-called Blue Line, which marks the border between Israel and Lebanon, was emphasized.
