Germany plans to continue training Lebanon’s military after the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) ends regular operations, Parliamentary State Secretary for Defense Nils Schmid told The National, as a successor role remains undecided.
Schmid said Germany’s contribution would center on maritime assistance and would not include ground troops. He said Germany would join a future international presence. The National separately reported that Italy, France and Spain were leading discussions about its structure.
The U.N. Security Council’s Resolution 2790 extended UNIFIL’s mandate for a final time through Dec. 31, 2026, when an orderly and safe withdrawal is to begin and then conclude within a year. Germany’s operational participation also ends Dec. 31. The Bundestag authorization allows up to 300 Bundeswehr personnel through that date, then up to 80 from Jan. 1 through June 30, 2027, when full withdrawal is due.
The Council of the European Union established the European Union Support Mission in Lebanon on Oct. 12 with an initial three-year mandate. It is designed to advise and train the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces and support maritime security governance. The Council says planning is continuing and a separate decision is required before the mission can begin operations.
UNIFIL was established in 1978. Resolution 2790 also calls for Lebanon to be consulted during the drawdown and says the Lebanese government should assume sole responsibility for security in the south.
In October, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told The Associated Press (AP) that no follow-on U.N. presence had been decided. AP reported that the EU mission would not take on UNIFIL’s border-patrol or monitoring work, an issue covered in earlier EconoTimes reporting on post-UNIFIL monitoring. The EU Council’s next step is a decision on whether to launch the mission; its announcement gave no date for that decision.
