Ban Visits UNIFIL HQ in the South, Praises Strong Partnership with Lebanese Army

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon arrived in the southern coastal town of Naqoura aboard a helicopter on Saturday for talks with the leadership of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

Ban was greeted by UNIFIL Force Commander Major-General Alberto Asarta Cuevas and undertook a brief tour by helicopter over the Blue Line.

He praised the strong partnership that UNIFIL was able to establish with the Lebanese Armed Forces to maintain peace and stability, according to a statement issued by the UNIFIL.

UNIFIL’s confidence-building role is “creating space in which the parties can seek a long-term solution to the conflict,” Ban said.

The U.N. official stated that the safety of UNIFIL personnel was “critically important,” noting that he had called on the Lebanese officials during his meetings to strengthen protection for UNIFIL.

Ban said that the loss of UNIFIL peacekeepers “weighs heavily on my heart,” as he laid a wreath at a memorial site for soldiers killed in service.

UNIFIL has been the target of three attacks in the past year and is now under a "strategy" review by the U.N.

He added: “Working to maintain peace in the South is a dangerous path.”

Asarta, who was presented the U.N. Medal, briefed Ban about the Mission and its operations, and the coordination between UNIFIL with the Lebanese and Israeli armies in order to ensure the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.

Ban is on a three-day visit to Lebanon, and is a keynote speaker at the two-day "Reform and Transitions to Democracy" conference organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) on Sunday.

The UNIFIL was expanded in 2006 following a devastating war between Hizbullah and the Jewish state. It now numbers some 12,000 troops.