UN mission in Lebanon needs different rules of engagement, Italy declares

The 16 E.U. countries contributing to the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon believe its rules of engagement need to be more effective, the Italian defense ministry said on Wednesday.

The countries, including Spain, Italy, and France, contribute more than a third of some 10,000 troops to UNIFIL, and the recent incidents have caused alarm among European governments.

Their defense ministers spoke by video call on Wednesday to assess the current situation, how to improve the force protection, and to look at options for the force should a ceasefire materialize, including troop numbers, equipment, and the mission's posture on the ground, diplomats said.

"It was also strongly expressed that the rules of engagement need to be revised to allow UNIFIL to operate more effectively and safely," an Italian defense ministry statement said, without going into detail.

It added that the 16 had shown a willingness to exert maximum political and diplomatic pressure on Israel so that no further incidents occur.

A French defense ministry readout gave no concrete conclusions to the meeting beyond repeating existing positions and saying all parties would not "tolerate that United Nations' soldiers are targetted or exploited in a conflict that must cease immediately."

Speaking to Reuters, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, whose country has about 160 troops on the ground, said one of the key challenges for UNIFIL was resupplying troops with food and equipment amid a worsening situation.

He also said dealing with troop rotations was also an issue.

"But I believe the fact that the U.N., the international community, has ears and eyes in the south of Lebanon continues to be indispensable," he said.

Reuters