United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon spokesman Neeraj Singh said on Thursday the security situation in Southern Lebanon differs strategically from the situation in 2006 thanks to the UNIFIL.

“The UNIFIL formed a strong deterrent against any renewal of hostile attacks along with the Lebanese army efforts,” Singh told the Kuwaiti An Nahar newspaper.

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams stressed on Monday the importance of parliament’s adoption of the law on maritime issues.

He said after holding talks with Speaker Nabih Berri: “I thanked the speaker for his support and strong condemnation of the attack on the French contingent in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon on July 26.”

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini stated that the situation in Syria may have dangerous repercussions on Lebanon, stressing that Lebanon needs stability now more than ever in order to meet its people’s needs.

He hoped in an interview to Sada al-Balad newspaper to be published on Wednesday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon would be able to continue its work effectively and with the cooperation of all concerned sides.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe condemned with "greatest firmness" the attack that targeted French U.N. peacekeepers in a roadside bombing in the southern city of Sidon.

Juppe called on the Lebanese authorities on Tuesday to "do everything necessary to bring the perpetrators to justice."

Five French soldiers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were wounded on Tuesday, one seriously, in a roadside bomb attack in the southern city of Sidon, a UNIFIL spokesman told Agence France Presse.

"According to preliminary reports, at around 6:00 pm today (1500 GMT) an explosion targeted a UNIFIL convoy along the highway at Sidon," said UNIFIL spokesman Neeraj Singh.

Major-General Alberto Asarta Cuevas, Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), on Friday visited the newly deployed Irish Battalion in south Lebanon at the start of its mission as part of the U.N. peacekeeping force.

“The contributions of Irish peacekeepers to UNIFIL go back to 1978, as old as UNIFIL. They have lost brave soldiers in the service of peace in this dear land. I am proud to have you here,” Asarta told the Irish peacekeepers.

UNIFIL Director of Political and Civil Affairs Milos Strugar said that the number of troops will increase within a month.

Strugar told As Safir newspaper published Saturday that “an Irish contingent will join the UNIFIL mission thus increasing the number of troops.”

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati condemned on Monday the attack against a U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon on Friday, stressing the important role the Italian contingent plays in the international force.

He said after holding talks with Italian Ambassador to Lebanon Giuseppe Morabito: “The attack was primarily aimed at destabilizing Lebanon.”

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday condemned a bomb attack near the Lebanese southern city of Sidon that seriously injured two Italian peacekeepers, pledging to "bring the perpetrators to justice."

"I condemn the attack on the U.N. peacekeepers which happened today in Lebanon," Ban said in a statement. "It is all the more deplorable because today is the International Day of the United Nations Peacekeepers."

Six Italian peacekeepers were wounded -- two of them seriously -- along with two civilians on Friday in a roadside bomb explosion targeting a U.N. patrol along a highway near the Lebanese southern city of Sidon, officials said.

"There was an explosion late afternoon that targeted a U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) logistics convoy along the main highway near Sidon," UNIFIL spokesman Neeraj Singh told Agence France Presse.