Ambassadors of France, Italy, Spain Make Unannounced Visit With UNIFIL Commander to South

An-Nahar newspaper reported that the ambassadors of France, Italy, and Spain made an unannounced visit to South Lebanon on Monday, as the three countries have raised the level of coordination among them following clashes between UNIFIL and residents in several southern Lebanese villages.

An-Nahar said the coordinated action between the three countries comes ahead of a July 14 U.N. Security Council meeting which intends to discuss the report of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the implementation of Resolution 1701. 

The three ambassadors, Spain's ambassador Juan Carlos Gafo, France's ambassador Denis Pietton, and Italy's ambassador Gabriel Kika were accompanied by UNIFIL commander Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta. 

They examined the situation on the ground in light of measures undertaken to boost patrol coordination between UNIFIL and the Lebanese army.