UNIFIL head to end term in Lebanon

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) head Luciano Portolano expressed Monday satisfaction to his two-year term in office upon leaving, according to a UNIFIL statement.

He paid farewell visits to several senior Lebanese officials, including Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Tammam Salam, in the capital Beirut, and said that he "felt being very close to the country, the people and the authorities."

He also held phone talks with a number of military officials, taking special note of "extremely effective" coordination with the Lebanese army and other Lebanese securities in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701 implemented in 2006.

The major general is leaving the UNIFIL next month after two years at the helm of the UN peacekeeping mission.

"I attach great importance to relationship with the people as one of the keys to success," he added.

He went on to say that "preserving stability is in the interest of all parties and everybody is enjoying the calm that prevailed in the south (of Lebanon) in recent years."

Portolano expressed content in working "hand-in-hand with such encouraging leaders" and he said that "all our personnel -- both military and civilian -- will continue working with full respect for the religious beliefs, traditions and cultural sensitivities of the host population."

Launched in 1978, the UNIFIL is to help the government to restore control over southern Lebanon after the Israeli invasion.

It was beefed up in 2006 after the devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah. The UNIFIL currently has around 12,000 soldiers from 35 countries. Endit