The Turkish Parliament on Tuesday approved a presidential motion extending the mandate of Turkish troops stationed in Lebanon for an additional two years as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
The motion, submitted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was passed in the Turkish Parliament after deliberations in the General Assembly.
Türkiye joined the international mission, which has more than 10,000 peacekeepers from 50 countries in 2006. The parliament greenlit a one-year mandate then and this was repeatedly extended. If approved again, Turkish troops will remain part of UNIFIL until Oct. 31, 2025. Türkiye also contributed a frigate to UNIFIL.
UNIFIL was set up in the 1970s and took on a monitoring role in the region following the end of a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. The conflict renewed after Oct. 7, 2023, and reached an unprecedented level after Israel assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. Israel heightened its attacks following the killing and spread its attacks further north of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, after initial attacks on the southern suburbs of the city, where Hezbollah had strongholds and repeatedly violates the cease-fire.
