U.S. Pulls Out of U.N. Military Unit in Lebanon
The United States has withdrawn its military officers from patrol duties with United Nations peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon as a “prudent measure,” the State Department said Friday.
The decision comes nearly 10 months after the abduction of Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins from the unit, which is known as the Observer Group Lebanon of the U.N. Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO).
Spokeswoman Phyllis Oakley said the U.S. government took the action “not in connection with any recent specific threats against American personnel; rather it was requested in view of the overall situation in Lebanon,” which has been wracked by sectarian strife.
It was a “prudent measure,” she said.
Oakley said that while Americans would no longer provide logistical support in southern Lebanon they will continue to serve with UNTSO in other ways.
UNTSO was organized to maintain the cease-fire ordered by the U.N. Security Council in July, 1948, following Israel’s creation and to supervise the general armistice agreements among Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Israel.
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