French Debate over Decreasing Size of Contingent in UNIFIL
France might decrease its presence in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) after the attack that targeted its contingents in the southern city of sidon, An Nahar newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Three French U.N. peacekeepers were wounded last week in a roadside bombing near Sidon, and another three suffered hearing problems.
“There’s a debate currently in France over its commitment to UNIFIL’s mission without any modification in the rules of engagement,” diplomatic sources said.
However, the source added: “This deal requires consultations on all levels.”
“The French military leadership will discuss this issue seriously this week… but this decision requires more time and consultations with the countries participating in UNIFIL,” they said.
The sources noted that “the French Foreign and Defense ministries began discussing this issue.”
They stressed that the repercussions of the attack that targeted the French peacekeepers are ongoing.
The sources said that the “Lebanese authorities have to protect these forces’ deployment in the south and their movement.”
UNIFIL was expanded after a devastating 2006 war between the Jewish state and Hizbullah.
The force has been the target of three other unclaimed attacks.
In the worst, three Spanish and three Colombian peacekeepers were killed in June 2007 when a booby-trapped car exploded as their vehicle passed.
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