UNIFIL Marks 33rd Anniversary of Presence in the South
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon held a ceremony at the mission headquarters in Naqoura on Friday to mark the 33rd anniversary of its presence in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL said in a statement.
Peacekeepers representing the 34 contingents that make up UNIFIL participated in the ceremony. Attending were representatives from the Lebanese armed and security forces, local mayors, community officials, as well as senior diplomats, the statement said.
UNIFIL chief Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta Cuevas and Lebanese Armed Forces South Area Commander Brig. Gen. Jalal Maki representing the LAF commander laid wreaths at the UNIFIL cenotaph in memory of fallen peacekeepers.
“Since its establishment, UNIFIL has suffered the loss of 306 military and civilian peacekeepers, who lost their lives while serving the cause of peace in southern Lebanon,” Asarta said. “We shall never forget the ultimate sacrifice that they made in the effort to implement our mandate.”
“UNIFIL remains committed to increase the Lebanese Armed Forces’ capabilities to perform the tasks included in Security Council resolution 1701and to gradually assume their corresponding security responsibilities in the south,” he added.
During the ceremony, Asarta awarded the United Nations Peace Medal to a number of military staff officers deployed in Naqoura as a token of appreciation for their contribution towards the implementation of UNIFIL’s mandate, the statement said.
UNIFIL was created by U.N. Security Council resolutions 425 and 426 on 19 March 1978. It currently comprises around 12,000 troops, supported by about 1,000 civilian international and local staff.
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