BEIRUT: A visiting senior United Nations official on Wednesday reaffirmed the body's commitment to stability in Lebanon as the mandate of its peacekeeping force in the country is set to expire this year.
Under-secretary-general for peace operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix met officials as well as representatives of countries contributing to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), which counts some 7,500 personnel from nearly 50 countries.
"I thanked them for their critical support to Unifil and reiterated the UN's strong commitment to supporting peace and stability in Lebanon," Lacroix said.
Unifil has served as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon since 1978, but its presence has been unable to prevent several rounds of conflict.
Under US pressure, the UN Security Council last year voted to end Unifil's mandate on Dec 31, 2026.
Lebanese officials have called for the mandate to be extended.
President Joseph Aoun told Lacroix that Lebanon "is keen on Unifil staying, considering the importance of the role that it has played from the start of its mission until today", according to a statement from his office.
"The circumstances resulting from Israel's attacks and occupation of southern villages and towns... make the presence of international forces extremely important," Aoun added.
Unifil's "withdrawal will create a vacuum that will have negative repercussions on the security situation in the region", he warned.
'Must be heard'
After meeting Aoun, Lacroix said "we know about Lebanon's positions including the letter which it sent to the United Nations requesting a temporary extension of the Unifil mandate".
"The positions of the Lebanese authorities must be heard and taken into consideration," he said.
In July, 86 Lebanese lawmakers signed a letter addressed to the UN Security Council calling for Unifil troops to remain with an expanded mandate.
Lebanese rebel group Hezbollah drew the country into the broader Middle East war in March by attacking Israel, which responded with massive airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people.
The looming Unifil deadline comes as Israeli forces continue to occupy a self-declared "security zone" that runs around 10km inside south Lebanon along the border.
Violence has decreased since a US-Iran understanding in June, and a US-sponsored Lebanon-Israel framework agreed later that month.
The framework deal involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon's south and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in test areas known as "pilot zones", but the process has largely stalled.
Visiting EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told AFP last week that the bloc was in favour of extending Unifil's mandate, also warning against a "security vacuum".
France and Italy have said they want to set up a multinational coalition to succeed Unifil.