Lebanon peacekeepers: EU backs extension, army mission

European Union member states favour extending the mandate of United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon and are preparing a training mission for Lebanese security forces, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Thursday.

Kallas told AFP during a visit to Lebanon that EU member states wanted to avoid a security vacuum in southern Lebanon, where UNIFIL's mandate is due to end on December 31, 2026.

“Our member states have been saying that there can't be any security vacuum in southern Lebanon, so everybody is worried about the UNIFIL mandate ending,” she said. “It would be most welcomed if this mandate is extended, so that is the position of the member states.”

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon has about 7,500 personnel from nearly 50 countries and has been in place since 1978. The UN Security Council voted last year, under US pressure, to end its mandate.

Kallas said the US-sponsored Israel-Lebanon framework requires someone to verify whether the parties are keeping to their agreements. She said it would be dangerous if UNIFIL ended before another international force was ready.

The framework involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in test areas known as pilot zones. Kallas said the process had largely stalled.

Kallas also said the EU would soon establish a civilian-military training and advisory mission for the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces. She said EU foreign ministers would discuss giving the plan a final push on Monday and expressed hope that it would be ready by the end of the year. She said the mission would not replace the peacekeepers.

At a joint press conference with Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi, Kallas said Lebanon must have full control of its territory, including moving towards Hezbollah's disarmament.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the broader Middle East war in March by attacking Israel, which responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion. Lebanon says more than 4,300 people have been killed. Israel maintains troops in a self-declared security zone inside Lebanon along the border.

Kallas said the EU announced 505 million euros, or $615 million, in financial assistance for Lebanon in September through 2027, completing a one billion euro package announced in 2024.