Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati visited military posts in the south of the country on Monday for the first time since the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel came into force last month.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us,” Mikati said, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA). The most important point is the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, he added.
Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia agreed to a ceasefire at the end of November. The agreement stipulates, among other things, that Israeli ground troops must withdraw from Lebanon in stages within 60 days.
In accordance with UN Resolution 1701, Hezbollah is to withdraw to behind the Litani River, about 30 kilometres north of the Israeli-Lebanese border.
The Lebanese army is to monitor compliance with the agreement. Since the ceasefire came into force, there have been repeated violations by both Israel and the Hezbollah militia, resulting in several deaths.
Lebanon is facing a difficult test, Mikati said after a meeting with army chief Joseph Aoun in the town of Marjayoun, near the Israeli border.
However, Mikati said that he has full confidence in the Lebanese army, which will prove it is able to fulfil all the tasks required of it.
