BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- The director of the U.N. mission in Lebanon, Maj. Gen. Paolo Serra, said Thursday he was pleased with "strong words of support" from the new government.
Serra, head of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, met Thursday with Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam in Beirut to discuss national security concerns in Lebanon.
"The prime minister had strong words of support for UNIFIL and he acknowledged the importance of the work we are doing together with the Lebanese armed forces to maintain a safe and secure environment in the south," he said in a statement.
UNIFIL is mandated to observe the so-called Blue Line, an area separating Israeli and Lebanese territory. Serra said the border area was "relatively stable."
In Beirut, the United Nations said at least eight people were dead and more than 100 others were wounded after a double suicide bombing Wednesday, for which an al-Qaida group took credit.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement from his office praising the "active efforts of the Lebanese army and security forces" to work in coordination with Lebanon's new prime minister.
Salam was able to form a government this week after a 10-month deadlock. The 24 Cabinet ministers are divided equally between members of the March 14 political coalition, which has Western support, March 8, which includes lawmakers from Hezbollah, and others hand-picked by Salam, an independent, and his confidants.
