File photo — Photo: Bilal Yassine / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Southern villagers fear the day after UNIFIL as France plans a new framework
Isolated communities worry about the gap when the UN force begins withdrawing on 31 December.
Residents of isolated villages in south Lebanon are voicing anxiety about life after UNIFIL, according to L'Orient-Le Jour and France 24, ahead of the force's scheduled departure.
Under the Security Council decision, the peacekeepers begin an orderly withdrawal from 31 December 2026. UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix has warned that no decision has yet been taken on any international presence afterwards.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, visiting Beirut, said he hoped for a new international framework, while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has asked for a presence under a Security Council resolution.
For families who describe the peacekeepers as part of their community, the question is who guarantees calm until the Lebanese Army can deploy fully.
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