United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

UNIFIL base, 1981

UNIFIL road block in Lebanon, 1981

The 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] 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]

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.^[2] During the 1982 Lebanon War, UN positions were overrun, primarily by the de facto forces under Saad Haddad. These were the indigenous Lebanese forces supported by the IDF.^[3] During the occupation, UNIFIL's function was mainly to provide humanitarian aid.^[3] 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legal sanction to armed anti-Israeli groups in Lebanon (though the UN has officially certified that Israel has fully withdrawn from all areas it occupied after 1973).

UNIFIL's current mandate expires on August 31, 2009.^[4]

Mandate

UNIFIL Sisu in the snow, close to the Israeli border in South-Lebanon, 1998

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.[5] 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]

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 lead 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 and one Turkish vessel to comprise the 11-vessel UNIFIL Maritime Task Force.^[12]

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 Italian Force Commander Major-General Claudio Graziano.^[14]

To date UNIFIL has suffered 272 fatalities: 261 troops, two military observers, five international civilian staff, and four local staff.^[14]

Debate over UNIFIL presence and neutrality

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 on their website which "could have exposed Israeli soldiers to grave danger", while making no such reports about Hezbollah.^[18]

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”.

The participation of Turkish troops in the reinforced UNIFIL in 2006 has also been controversial in Lebanon, where the Armenian community has vigorously protested against it.

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]

Combat-related incidents

The entrance to the UN base where four UN peacekeepers were killed during the recent conflict

• During a day in which Hezbollah opened small arms fire at a UNIFIL convoy, four soldiers from the Ghanaian battalion were lightly injured after an Israeli tank shell hit a UNIFIL position during the 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 when an Israeli aerial bomb struck 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 shelled a total of 14 times by Israeli artillery^[23] throughout the day despite warning calls made by UN personnel to the IDF.^[24] Later, a rescue team was also shelled as it tried to clear the rubble.^[25]

Reinforcements

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 [6], in addition to the forces deployed in Opération Baliste. Italy will send 3000 troops.[7] Qatar will send between 200 and 300 troops. [8]

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.[9]

Incidents involving Israeli planes

On the 3 October 2006, an Israeli fighter penetrated the 2-nautical mile defence perimeter of the French frigate Courbet, triggering a diplomatic incident. Israel apologised after official protests from the French government [10] [11].

On 24 October, six Israeli F-16's 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.^[26][27][28]

On 31 October 2006, eight Israeli F-15s flew over many areas of Lebanon, including Beirut.^[29][30] 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.^[31]

Post-conflict situation

On 24 June 2007, six UNIFIL soldiers (three Colombians and three Spaniards) were killed after their vehicle was hit by an explosive device; two others (both Spanish) were injured in the incident.^[32] No group has yet admitted responsibility. The Israeli military believed the attack to be the work of al-Qaeda/Global Jihad members.^[33] On January 8, 2008 a roadside bomb injured two Irish UNIFIL soldiers 35km south of Beirut.^[34] 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.^[35] 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.^[36]

Countries involved

The following countries have either committed troops, are currently active in UNIFIL, or have offered support to UNIFIL in some way. Countries in bold were part of the original UNIFIL force.

Country	Committed Forces (estimated*)	Support Roles
Belgium	394[37][38]	de-miners, medical and reconstruction teams [38]1 Karel Doorman class frigate[39]
Brunei	100[40][41]
Bulgaria	160[42]
China, People’s Republic of	1,000[43][44]	200 engineers currently in Lebanon clearing mines and unexploded ordnance[44]
Denmark	50[37][45]	2 patrol boats as force protection for German contingent
Finland	250[37][46]	reconstructing roads, bridges and other infrastructure destroyed[47]
France	2,000[48][49]	ground troops including 13 French Leclerc tanks;[50] in charge of UNIFIL ground forces until February 2007.[51] In addition, French Navy ships with 1,700 men are deployed off Lebanon in Opération Baliste, and assisting in UNIFIL operations.
Germany	2,400[52][53]	naval ships to secure the Lebanese coast and prevent arms smuggling[52][53]
Ghana	650[54]
Greece	176-196	Elli-class frigate, the HS Kanaris, to patrol against arms smugglers[55]
India	672[56][54]
Indonesia	1,000[57][58]	combat units, an engineering unit and logistics specialists[57]
Ireland	150[47][59]	perimeter protection for Finnish troops[47]
Italy	2,500[60]	ground troops; assumed charge of UNIFIL ground forces in February 2007[61]
South Korea	350[62][63]	Infantry units and medical team. Security task in Tyre area and associated supply mission.[64] Medical aid for local people.
Malaysia	360[65][66]	Administrative(200) and patrol/quick reaction team (160; including commandos and special forces);
Nepal	850[67][68]	infantry battalion[67][68]
Netherlands	150[39]	1 Karel Doorman class frigate[39]
Norway	100[39][69]	naval ships to secure the Lebanese coast and prevent arms smuggling[39]
Poland	500[70][37]
Portugal	140[71]	engineering unit
Russia	400[53][72]	rebuilding infrastructure[53]
Slovakia	6	medical team
Slovenia	14	3 Staff Officers, 8 men strong Recon element, 3 men strong Logistical element (as of November 2007)
Spain	1,000[48][73]	de-mining and beach cleaning[74]
Sweden	40[37][75]	1 Göteborg class corvette
Turkey	495[76]	engineering unit to help rebuild damaged bridges and roads; Turkish naval frigate patrolling off the Lebanese coast[76]see also http://www.turkishembassy.org.lb/turkliban/turkliban.htm
Ukraine	1[54]
Total	13,817

* Because the troop figures come from second hand sources, the exact numbers can not be accurately verified. In most cases the sources round and/or estimate the figures to the closet proximity.

UNIFIL leadership

Personal representatives of the Secretary-General for Southern Lebanon

Commanders of the force

Commanders of the Maritime Task Force

Fatalities

To date, UNIFIL has suffered 258 fatalities: 249 military personnel, 2 military observers, 3 international civilian staff, and 4 local staff.^[77] Fatalities by nationality include Belgium: 4, Fiji: 35, Finland: 11, France: 30, Ghana: 29, India: 2, Iran: 1, Ireland: 47, Italy: 6, Lebanon: 6, Malaysia: 1, Nepal: 25, Netherlands: 9, Nigeria: 10, Norway: 21, Philipines: 1, Poland: 7, Senegal: 16, Spain: 7, Sweden: 7, United Kingdom: 3.

31st May 1999: An Irish soldier, Pte. William Kedian was killed when the IDF/DFF mortared a UNIFIL position.

25th September 2006: A French engineer officer was killed in a road accident near the town of Sofar.

24th June 2007: Three Spanish and three Colombian soldiers were killed in a bomb blast between Marjayoun and Khiam.

25th July 2007: A French soldier was killed near the village of Shama while clearing unexploded munitions.

11th October 2007: A British man, Craig Appleby (36) was killed while clearing munitions near Bint Jbeil.

12th November 2007: Two French soldiers were wounded as a result of the accidental discharge of a weapon. One of the wounded men subsequently died while being evacuated to Hospital.

15th June 2008: A Spanish soldier was killed and two injured in a road accident.

3rd September 2008: A Belgian soldier was killed near the village of Aitaroun while clearing munitions left over from the 2006 conflict.

Quotes

Easter catholic mass in South Lebanon with Italian UNIFIL contingent- 2004

• "UNIFIL, I'm afraid, is a joke. They’ve been there for 26 years and since then, there have been so many skirmishes [along the border]." - former Israeli ambassador Itamar Rabinovich, 20 July 2006^[78]

• "We didn’t like very much UNIFIL which was very useless and very helpless. Look what happened. Did you hear of any particular efforts of the United Nations UNIFIL force in the south of Lebanon to prevent the attacks against Israel in the first place. So they were not useful and that is why we were unhappy with them." Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, August 2, 2006^[79]

• " UNIFIL came here in 1978. We were, because at that time there was no Hezbollah here, accused of being sympathetic to Palestinians. A peacekeeping force does not come here with pre-set enemies. There is no enemy [inaudible] in a peacekeeping force. UNIFIL is a peacekeeping force. It's not an Israeli combat force or an anti-terror force, as they would like it to be. As long as we don't serve their direct interests, they are going to denigrate it as much as they can." Timur Goksel, former spokesman of the UNIFIL, July 26, 2006^[80]

Notes

See also

• Bregman, Ahron (2002). Israel's Wars: A History Since 1947. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-28716-2
• Operation Litani
• Lebanese Civil War
• South Lebanon conflict
• 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
• 1996 shelling of Qana

Sources

• GlobalSecurity.org Lebanon

External links

• UNIFIL - UN official mandate
• UNIFIL Deployment Map