US urges UN force in Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah weapons

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley is urging the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon to step up efforts to prevent the spread of illegal arms in the south, which she says “are almost entirely in the hands of Hezbollah terrorists.”

Haley made clear in a statement Monday that the United States is seeking “significant improvements” to the U.N. force known as UNIFIL when the U.N. Security Council renews its mandate due to expire Aug. 31.

Her statement was in response to a letter to the Security Council from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying he intends to look at ways in which UNIFIL could “enhance its efforts.”

But Guterres stressed that the Lebanese military has primary responsibility to ensure “there are no unauthorized armed personnel, assets or weapons” on Lebanon’s frontier with Israel.