US ambassador Nikki Haley lashes UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, claiming they are blind to illegal arms flowing to Hezbollah
The US has been pressing to step up efforts to tackle what Haley described as a “massive flow of illegal weapons”
US ambassador Nikki Haley sharply criticised the UN peacekeeping commander in Lebanon on Friday, saying he is “blind” to the spread of illegal arms and reiterating a call for the force to do more about it. He says there’s no evidence it’s actually happening.
With the peacekeeping mission up for renewal next week, the US has been pressing to step up efforts to tackle what Haley described as a “massive flow of illegal weapons” to Hezbollah-dominated southern Lebanon, where neighbouring Israel has long complained that the militant group operates with impunity.
But the peacekeeping commander, Major General Michael Beary, pushed back this week on US and Israeli criticism. The Irish general said his force has no evidence of weapons being illegally transferred and stockpiled in the area, and that “if there was a large cache of weapons, we would know about it.”
But Haley said there’s plenty of evidence including Hezbollah’s own boasts and Beary displayed “an embarrassing lack of understanding of what’s going on”.
“He seems to be the only person in south Lebanon who is blind to what Hezbollah is doing,” she said, adding that his view of the situation “shows that we need to have changes” in the mission.
[Beary] seems to be the only person in south Lebanon who is blind to what Hezbollah is doing
Asked about her comments, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the organisation has full confidence in Beary’s work and noted that debate over the mission would play out in the Security Council.