Brasília – After taking over the general command of the Brazilian peace force in Haiti, from this week on, Brazil should coordinate the Maritime Task Force in Lebanon. The commander chosen is counter admiral Luiz Henrique Caroli. Lebanon is living a moment of political turmoil, as is the case with other Muslim countries in the Middle East and North Africa, with protests and worsening of instability.
The Brazilian office should head a fleet of eight vessels of five nationalities – German, Turkish, Greek, Indonesian and Bangladeshi. This information was disclosed by the Brazilian military and by negotiators, and published by the Portuguese official news agency, Lusa.
Since 1978, the United Nations (UN) has had a peace force denominated United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil). The initial objective was to guarantee the peaceful removal of Israeli troops from Southern Lebanon and avoid conflicts between members of the Hezbollah and Israel, apart from granting support to the Lebanese government and consolidating power in the region.
In total, some 13,000 men from 30 countries are in the mission in Lebanon with the support of 50 military observers. In 2006, after the war in Lebanon, the UN Security Council expanded the part played by the Unifil to activities of humanitarian help and support in defence of its frontiers.
In Lebanon, the climate of apprehension has worsened over the last month, when prime minister Najib Mikati was inaugurated. He is the target of domestic and foreign resistance due to his connection with Hezbollah. Before him, the position was in the hands of Saad Hariri. Protesters are against Mikati’s nomination as they believe Hezbollah will have the power.
*Translated by Mark Ament
