UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) — The UN Security Council is ready to renew the mandate of the UN mission in Lebanon UNIFIL for another year, the Council's president for August, Joy Ogwu told journalists on Friday.
"They [members of the Council] noted repeatedly the importance of the mandate of UNIFIL to maintain peace in the region and did express readiness to renew the mandate of the mission for another year. So that mandate will be renewed when we have the draft," Ogwu said.
The Security Council underscored the importance of a ceasefire and encouraged parties to remain committed to peace process, Ogwu added.
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was deployed in 1978 to ensure Israeli troops withdrawal from Lebanon as well as to assist the country’s government in restoring and maintaining peace and humanitarian access to civilian population.
The current UNIFIL authorization expires on August 31.
