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STORY: LEBANON / UNIFIL INTERVIEW
TRT: 03:25
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 06 MARCH 2026, NAQOURA, LEBANON / FILE
FILE
1. Close up, United Nations flag
06 MARCH 2026, NAQOURA, LEBANON
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Tilak Pokharel, Public Information Officer, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“We have seen, of course, hundreds of thousands of people leaving the South, fleeing to safety, you know, with children, women, you know. There are a lot of people who are left behind for various reasons, and even past few days - and even today - we have been supporting them. We have been getting requests to take them, to transport them to safety, and which our peacekeepers to the extent possible are doing that as part of their protection of civilian mandate.”
FILE
3. Close up, United Nations flag
06 MARCH 2026, NAQOURA, LEBANON
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Tilak Pokharel, Public Information Officer, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“We are also trying our best to facilitate humanitarian access. For example, we are facilitating like dozens of requests from the Lebanese Red Cross. Because they want to reach to areas where they need to support the population, fleeing population, injured, you know, and others.”
FILE
5. Close up, United Nations flag
06 MARCH 2026, NAQOURA, LEBANON
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Tilak Pokharel, Public Information Officer, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“This is violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial Integrity. This is definitely a violation of Resolution 1701, which we are guided by. The parties were supposed to and are supposed to, and in the past, they have committed to support the implementation of that resolution. And this is clearly a violation of a number of things.”
FILE
7. Close up, United Nations flag
06 MARCH 2026, NAQOURA, LEBANON
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Tilak Pokharel, Public Information Officer, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“Our peacekeepers have, definitely, they have observed such advances towards Lebanese territories in several areas, a few initially, in both sectors, sector east and sector west. But the number is only growing. Only today, today alone, we saw three new incursions in the eastern part, southeastern part of Lebanon, across the Blue Line.”
FILE
9. Close up, United Nations flag
06 MARCH 2026, NAQOURA, LEBANON
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Tilak Pokharel, Public Information Officer, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“Unfortunately, we observed, we detected, our radars detected firing of rockets and missiles from the Lebanese side, from the Lebanese territory into Israel. This happened, you know, every day almost since the latest escalation. So, even today, just before coming to this interview, I saw there were about 10 fired from the Lebanese side into Israeli side. So, of course, there are violations from this side, in the past five days.”
FILE
11. Close up, United Nations flag
06 MARCH 2026, NAQOURA, LEBANON
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Tilak Pokharel, Public Information Officer, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL):
“Future of the mission is clearly defined by the Security Council in Resolution 2790. So, we will be here until end of December, in support of Resolution 1701. But starting 1st of January 2027, our drawdown withdrawal process will start. And what happens after that, of course, the resolution, that same resolution, says that you know, the Secretary General will explore ways, options, for the implementation of Resolution 1701 by June 1st, this year.”
FILE
13. Close up, United Nations flag
A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesperson today (6 Mar) said Israeli incursions into southern Lebanon are a “violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial Integrity, and “definitely a violation of Resolution 1701,” noting that “unfortunately,” the mission has also detected, “firing of rockets and missiles from the Lebanese side” into Israel.
Speaking to UNTV Geneva via video teleconference from Naqoura, Lebanon, Tilak Pokharel said, “we have seen, of course, hundreds of thousands of people leaving the South, fleeing to safety, you know, with children, women” and added that UNIFIL has been supporting “a lot of people who are left behind for various reasons.”
Pokharel said, “we are also trying our best to facilitate humanitarian access. For example, we are facilitating like dozens of requests from the Lebanese Red Cross. Because they want to reach to areas where they need to support the population, fleeing population, injured, you know, and others.”
He said, the parties “were supposed to and are supposed to, and in the past they have committed to support the implementation” of Resolution 1701, but since the latest escalation, peacekeepers have observed Israeli advances “towards Lebanese territories in several areas, a few initially, in both sectors, sector east and sector west. But the number is only growing.”
Pokharel said, “only today, today alone, we saw three new incursions in the eastern part, southeastern part of Lebanon, across the Blue Line.”
The firing of rockets and missiles from the Lebanese side into Israel, he said, have happened “every day almost since the latest escalation.”
Asked about the future of the Mission, the spokesperson said it was “clearly defined by the Security Council in Resolution 2790,” and “starting 1st of January 2027, our drawdown withdrawal process will start.”
He said, “the Secretary General will explore ways, options, for the implementation of Resolution 1701 by June 1st, this year.”
