Operation Litani: Encyclopedia II - Operation Litani - Outcome of the war

Operation Litani - Outcome of the war

In response to the invasion, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 425 and Resolution 426 calling for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) [2] was created to enforce this mandate, and restore peace and sovereignty to Lebanon. UNIFIL forces arrived in Lebanon on 23 March 1978, setting up headquarters in Rosh haNiqra/Ras Naqoura.

Israeli forces withdrew later in 1978, turning over positions inside Lebanon along the border to their ally, the South Lebanon Army (SLA) under the leadership of Maj. Saad Haddad. With Israeli aid, the SLA continually harassed UNIFIL. On 19 April 1978, the SLA shelled UNIFIL headquarters, killing 8 UN soldiers. (Fisk, 138). In April, 1980, two Irish UN soldiers were kidnapped and murdered by Christian gunmen in SLA territory and another Irish soldier was shot by Haddad's men. The Israeli press at the time, particularly the Jerusalem Post, accused the Irish of pro-PLO bias. (Fisk, pp. 152-154). However, the PLO also attacked UNIFIL, killing an Irish UN soldier in 1981 and continuing to occupy areas in southern Lebanon.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Outcome of the war", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki