New York - Arabstoday
A United Nations official said Tuesday that Lebanon continues to face challenges to its \"security and stability,\" according to a statement issued Tuesday by the U.N. Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, U.N. Assistant-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told the Security Council that the situation in Syria has contributed to an outbreak of violence in the Tripoli neighborhoods of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh and that the current security situation is fragile. Fernandez-Taranco also informed the Security Council of reports of a recent incursion into north Lebanon by the Syrian army, which left two people killed. He added that other incursions resulted in the abduction of Lebanese citizens, though most have been released. Other topics brought to the Security Council\'s attention included the reconvening of Lebanon\'s National Dialogue and continued cooperation between United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese Army, despite violations of Lebanon\'s airspace by the Israeli air force \"on an almost daily basis.\"