UN peacekeepers stay on Lebanon’s border despite Israeli ground incursion

Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations peacekeeping chief says U.N. peacekeepers are staying in their positions on Lebanon’s southern border despite Israel’s request to vacate some areas before it launched its ground operation. Jean-Pierre LaCroix told reporters Thursday that the commander and liaison officers from the U.N. force also are in constant contact with their counterparts in the Israeli and Lebanese militaries. He called that key to protecting the U.N.’s more than 10,000 peacekeepers. He says the U.N. force is “the only channel of communications between the parties.” It was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel’s 1978 invasion. The U.N. expanded its mission following the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.