BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A visit to southern Lebanon by the country's president is a testament to Beirut's commitment to working with U.N. peacekeepers, a Spanish general said.
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman visited the headquarters of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon to meet with Spanish Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta Cuevas, who is the head of the UNIFIL mission.
Cuevas following the meeting said it was a "demonstration of Lebanon's support and commitment" to the strategic partnership with U.N. peacekeeping forces.
"The achievements reached so far are testament to the excellent relations and cooperation that exist between the Lebanese armed forces and UNIFIL," he said in a statement.
The mandate for UNIFIL was reinforced in the wake of the 2006 war between fighters with Lebanon's Shiite resistance movement Hezbollah and Israel. UNIFIL is tasked with supporting Lebanese forces in Hezbollah's southern stronghold and monitoring a 2006 cease-fire.
Israeli and Lebanese forces exchanged fire near the border Aug. 3, leaving four people dead. Lebanese forces said Israeli troops strayed over the border, though UNIFIL determined the Israeli military was operating on its side of the border.
The U.N. Security Council in its most recent statement on the UNIFIL mandate said that Hezbollah "increasingly impeded UNIFIL's freedom of movement."
