UNIFIL troop reduction won't affect army support: Abagnara

The chief of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), General Diodato Abagnara, assured President Joseph Aoun on Thursday that the gradual reduction of the force's troops, due to budget cuts and the announced end of its deployment, "will not affect the existing coordination" between the peacekeepers and the Lebanese Army.

Abagnara made this statement during a meeting with the head of state at the Baabda Presidential Palace. The 25 percent reduction in the number of peacekeepers worldwide, announced last week, "will not affect either the existing coordination or the continued support for the Lebanese Army deployed in the international operations area," south of the Litani, the Italian general said.

A senior United Nations official had announced this decision last week, citing budget cuts by Washington to various U.N. agencies and NGOs.

Kandice Ardiel, UNIFIL's spokesperson, had warned in an interview with Emirati media outlet Erem News on Tuesday that this reduction "will have negative effects on [UNIFIL's] ability to fully carry out [its] mandate" in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon's support for 1701

For his part, Aoun reiterated that the number of troops deployed south of the Litani will "gradually increase, reaching 10,000 soldiers by the end of the year in order to ensure security and stability along the southern border, after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupy."

"The army will work with UNIFIL to implement Resolution 1701 in all its provisions," notably by disarming militias and armed groups in Lebanon, and will "retake all its positions" in the area, where peacekeepers are currently deployed, he added.

The head of state also reaffirmed "the importance of cooperation and coordination between the army and UNIFIL, both militarily and in humanitarian and logistical matters," stressing that "Lebanon is in contact with brotherly and friendly countries to ensure coordination for the phase following the withdrawal of the U.N. force."

Abagnara was also received at Ain al-Tineh by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who praised "the role that international forces play" in southern Lebanon, where they "share in the sacrifices of the residents in the face of Israeli aggression."

He reiterated Lebanon's support and its commitment to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, calling on the international community to "assume its responsibilities to force Israel to comply with the terms of the cease-fire, end its daily aggressions and withdraw from the territories it still occupies."

In August, the U.N. Security Council voted to renew, for a final year, the U.N. peacekeeping mission, beginning the gradual termination of the mission by Dec. 31, 2026, after nearly 50 years along the border with Israel.

The decision came after pressure from the United States and its close ally Israel, at a time when Lebanon and Hezbollah had been weakened following a thirteen-month war with Israel that lasted from October 2023 to November 2024.