France reportedly working on keeping int'l force on Syria border, few observers in south
France is seriously leading a project to keep UNIFIL’s international forces in Lebanon under a new mandate that includes comprehensive supervision of the Lebanese border with Syria while maintaining a limited number of observers on the southern border, informed sources said.
The recent visit of the French presidential envoy to Lebanon, Anne-Claire Legendre, was primarily aimed at offering "France's services" to sponsor a Lebanese-Syrian dialogue for the purpose of demarcating the land and sea borders between the two countries, the sources told al-Akhbar newspaper.
According to the sources, the U.S. may agree to the deployment of the new international force on the border with Syria. A separate team of up to one hundred observers would deploy along the southern border. The U.S. and Israel would choose the nationality of these personnel, the daily said.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Friday, after a meeting with a U.N. Security Council delegation, that a new international force is needed to fill the void in south Lebanon after the UNIFIL's mandate ends. He said it could be similar to the UNDOF force operating in the Golan Heights along the border between Israel and Syria.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/316959 |