The families of the UN Interim Force
in Lebanon (UNIFIL) personnel must leave the country, UNIFIL
spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told ANSA on Wednesday.
The request was made by the UN, according to an order already
issued in May, said Tenenti.
The UN contingent is formed by some 10,000 military personnel,
including over 1,000 Italians.
Tenenti explained that since May, with tension escalating at the
border between Lebanon and Israel, the mission has become a
"non-family duty station".
"Many families have left, even though some remained in Beirut
where the situation was calmer.
"Now the new measure concerns them as well", noted the
spokesman, adding however that it is a "temporary measure".
It is expected to last "at least until the end of August" and it
can't be described as "an evacuation but rather as a
relocation", he explained.
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