EU establishes new Lebanon support mission

European Union foreign ministers agreed ​on Monday to establish a ‌new support ​mission in Lebanon aimed at advising and training the country's military and internal security forces.

The mission "will advise and ‌assist the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces to strengthen territorial control, border security, and internal security," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement, adding ‌that "Europe is invested in Lebanon's future". The Council of the EU said the ‌mission would have an initial mandate of three years and include both a civilian and military pillar.

"The military pillar will provide advisory support and training to strengthen the capabilities of the Lebanese Armed Forces, ⁠for border ​security and maritime ⁠security," it said, while the civilian pillar would provide training for Lebanon's Internal Security Forces in areas ⁠such as cybercrime and anti-smuggling. Kallas said last month that more than 10 EU members were willing ​to contribute resources and people to the mission.

More operational planning is ⁠expected before the bloc makes a decision to launch the mission's work. An EU official said on Monday ⁠that ​the bloc hoped to deploy personnel under the new mission in the coming months. The mission stems from the EU studying ways to strengthen Lebanese forces ⁠to help free up the Lebanese army to focus on disarming the militia group ⁠Hezbollah.

The mandate of ⁠the UN Interim Force in Lebanon is set to expire at the end of 2026, when it is expected to ‌begin a year-long ‌drawdown and withdrawal.