BEIRUT, Lebanon, July 8 (UPI) -- Cooperation between U.N. peacekeepers and the Lebanese military is to thank for relative calm in the region during the past four years, U.N. officials said.
The U.N Security Council, through Resolution 1701, brokered a cease-fire that ended a 34-day conflict in 2006 between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces.
Resolution 1701 expanded the mandate for peacekeeping operations in the area near the Litani River in southern Lebanon.
Michael Williams, the U.N. special envoy for Lebanon, said "the excellent cooperation between UNIFIL and (the Lebanese military) over the past four years has been the backbone of the stability that has prevailed in south Lebanon."
French members of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon came under attack during protests in southern Lebanon. Williams said U.N. peacekeepers needed greater freedom of movement in their mandated area to support Lebanese forces.
"This in turn serves the interests of Lebanon and the stability of the wider region," he was quoted by the United Nations as saying.
Williams was speaking during a meeting with U.N., Lebanese and Israeli officials.
