The Security Council voted unanimously today to renew UN peacekeepers in Lebanon for six months and expressed "great concern" about serious air, sea and land violations across the border separating Israel and Lebanon.
The council's resolution extended until January 31st, 2004 the 25-year-old UN Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, to monitor the UN-drawn frontier, known as the Blue Line. It has been cut to some 2,000 troops from 5,800 in place a year ago.
The document condemned "all acts of violence" and expressed "great concern about the serious breaches and the air, sea and land violations of the withdrawal line."
It welcomed steps taken by the Lebanon government to impose its authority in the south, where the Hizbollah guerrilla group holds sway, and said Beirut should take further measures.
But Israeli Ambassador Mr Dan Gillerman objected to the reference to Beirut's actions, saying Lebanon and its ally Syria had done nothing to stop Hizbollah, which recently threatened to kidnap more Israelis and hit US targets.